Ice And Blood 2: No More Sorrow
by linkinparkfan9799
Summary: Sequel to My Patch of Ice and Blood:Maki meets Mack,an American who wants to be a doctor.He informs her of a unknown disease that often kills the victim,so Maki goes home to learn more.Can her new and old friends help her live long enough to find it?
1. Disease

_**I'm Maki Kia. Nobody else. I make my choices by gut, and when I do, I have a strong feeling I'm right (being prideful). I see Nana and Quartz sleeping out of exhaustion, so I smile kindly and open the house now reattached to my hip, setting them gently in the eggs I 'gave birth to' and shutting them quietly, replacing the roof. Nana and Quartz are my friends, my dreams, myself. They're still alive, so that means that I'm not doubting anything, that this is right. The engines roar and I feel the plane lift up into the sky after a few minutes of riding around the tracks. I set a hand over my abdomen and think about when I was flying as X-Negative to the top of that building. Yeah…that was Kaki, not under her own control. This all makes sense now. Even this one last thing…**_

_**Tata for now is never a lie**._

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 1_

**Disease**

"It went over there, Maki-cha!" Quartz informs next to me.

"I _got _that," I sigh, "it's just _catching it_ that would be useful!"

Maki Kia, me, a twelve-year-old traveling and somehow hunting down 'X' eggs in spare time. Nana and I are in a character transformation, so my hair is down and a deep purple beret is over the top of my hazel hair and the silver chain around my neck has a tiny lavender rose pendant, the sleeveless, deep purple top not tucked into the mid-thigh white skirt with a light purple leather belt weaving through the soft belt loops, a silver rose belt buckle keeping it together. The light purple sneakers with deep purple flowers painted on the sides help my speed marginally, since Nana always has that thing with her clothes that helps with 'X' egg catching, ever since she came out of her egg…

_**Tears dampen the carpet under my face and I hear something crack, so I look over to see that light purple egg is completely separated in halves, a little head popping out. I squint, that being immensely difficult due to the tears, and see that it's a small person, like Yoru except not a cat-like human. This one has light purple hair that flows to her waist, her height five inches. She has a small deep purple beret and a little rose pendant the same light purple color of her hair attached to a small silver chain. She hops out and I see her skin is snow, her sleeveless top is deep-purple, her skirt is white with belt loops, a light purple leather belt with a silver belt buckle of a rose holding the skirt flowing to her mid-thighs. She has little light purple sneakers with deep purple flowers painted on the sides and iliac eyes. She smiles and jumps up, also floating in mid-air.**_

Yeah, that's how it went. I shake the memory out to regain concentration when the 'X' egg slams into my forehead and causes me to flip in mid-air. Yeah, I said mid-air. That's what happens when you're with Quartz, a Guardian Character with teal hair always in a right side ponytail, teal eyes, a little teal dress that flows to her knees, so she has crimson leggings underneath and teal ballet shoes. The ponytail is held with a small teal quarter note clip like always. Anyways, with a teeny character change (I can do merges since of 'X' Negative (explain shortly), I'm 'air surfing' on a rainbow quarter note. Tip: don't keep looking down like I do.

"_Hurry! The eggs getting away!" _Nana cries within.

"I GOT THAT!" I groan, leaning forward as a boost.

The 'X' egg flies down into the city streets of Paris, France, so I dive down after it, ignoring the loud chaos of horns below due to some drunk driver. I lean hard to the left as it enters an alley and can't stop myself before I slam hard into a brick wall, a crack forming on the X-Negative ice. X-Negative is a rare side-effect for two character bearers, to those who have no clue (and stupidly skipped 'My Patch of Ice and Blood'). Before I left Japan, it formed a ring of ice tight around the abdomen, which I have no clue why, and let's just say fixing cracks is not easy when you want to be on a diet (try five times and have the incident happen, like, twenty; you will explode I swear it). I face palm myself and search around to find the 'X' egg rolling on the ground about a foot away. I smirk and grab it, tracing a 'X' in the air in front of it with one long, white fingernail and a 'X' made of light appears. It flies through the egg and it whitens, so I release it and it shoots up into the sky-blue air in search for its owner.

I huff and lean against the brick wall I smashed into, Nana undoing the transformation so my black tank top and torn jeans reappear, one arm glove from an American ninety-nine cent store with purple stars and a black background shoved up the left arm to my elbow, the hand faction fingerless. I tug on the silver chair and fidget with the backwards baseball cap, again from America, and cross my arms, watching Nana and Quartz catch their breath. The wallet in my pocket is light and I twist my wrist around before lifting it up to my face, the rainbow watch with a rainbow watch on the face, a heart cut out in the top right corner and hearts replacing '12, 9, 3, and 6'. It is past lunch, and we've been chasing that thing for about five hours. I push off the wall and shove both hands into the jean pockets, strolling out of the damp alley and into the crowded streets of Paris.

"Maki-san," Nana pants while floating forward on the left side of my head with her hands on her knees"when can we…go…home?"

I shrug. "How should I know?"

"Cause…" Quartz starts, just floating on the opposite side of my head on her back, "you're the one…who wanted to travel…"

I roll my eyes. "You guys do remember the house is here, right?"

They stop and I stop as well, opening the small russet roof of the tiny shrunken house to reveal their two eggs and they fly in, shutting themselves inside as I replace the roof. Trust me it's at least one ft. by one ft. by one ft. when it isn't shrunken down and attached to a small black belt slanted on my head. Walking through these streets of Paris makes me wonder what's going on back in Japan, since I did leave about five months ago (yeah, it's been five months, not the dramatic ten million years or so you creepy stalkers out there often love to read about). My thinned stomach rumbles, not that different from the result of locking myself in my old room after that therapist appointment I don't know…seven or eight months ago? It's fuzzy, seeing I usually live in a box nowadays to save some F*CKING needed money (I'll take donations). I freeze and turn my head slowly to find a park across a crosswalk, an ice cream stand in sight.

I shrug to myself and wait for the red hand to switch to a white walking person, dashing across the white bars and skidding to a halt on the concrete. I wipe some sweat off my nose and stroll while slumping down to the white cart with multiple ice cream pictures all over the sides and an umbrella high above the person serving. I drop a few Euros on the spot and the person kindly hands a mint ice cream in a waffle cone wrapped with white paper. He plops some chocolate shreds on the top and I walk over to a bench under a tree, licking the surface. Suddenly, some random dude hangs upside down a thick branch, sweaty brown hair therefore ruining the ice cream. He stares at me with wide iliac eyes with a curious glint. I scream and shove the ice cream in his face, jumping off the bench and running across a dirt path.

"RAPEST!" I accuse.

He jumps off the branch, doing a flip mid-air, and prying the cone off his nose, dumping it in a white trash can. He smiles and a little egg appears in his hands. I squint to see a small medicine bottle and a red cross behind it. "Hey," he turns to me with a full blown smile, "do you always greet people like that?"

"Only the perverts I know," I admit, crossing my arms over my breast.

He laughs and takes a napkin out of his black shorts pocket, wiping his face clean and chucking that. "Well, I'm not a pervert, just a curious mind wondering why you have a _house _on your hip."

"Well here's a paranoid mind wondering why you're toting an Easter egg," I snap.

He glances at it and laughs. "Oh, so you can see Guardian Characters." I nod. "Is that what the house is for?" I nod again, straightening my right leg with my left leg stretching across a bit. All my weight is on the right leg, the house on the right hip bulging a little with the hip shift. "Hm. Well," he presents a hand, "I'm Mack. Are you American?" I shake my head. "Huh. That's weird, you sure look like one."

"Let me guess, Mr. Detective," I roll the deep blue eyes, "you're American?" He nods. That'd explain why he's speaking English. "I'm Japanese."

He blinks. "You know English?"

"WE KNOW OTHER LANGUAGES!" I grow red in the face. I huff and whip off the sweaty cap and turn it around forwards.

"Are you traveling?" he asks.

One thing, does he always ask stuff? "Obviously," I sigh, walking away with him chasing me. "I'm from Japan, but I left five months ago."

"Where have you been?" he asks.

"America for two months and here for three months now," I shrug.

"Do you have any siblings?" I nod my head. "Huh, so do I. Hey, do you have a boyfriend?" I freeze and take two steps away, staring at him with wide shocked eyes. He blushes and rubs the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "Uh, I'm asking cause I don't have one, so I was wondering if we had anything else in common…you don't have to answer."

"Thank you," I smile in victory, walking down the path again.

"So…" he catches up, "how many Characters do you have?"

"Two," I shrug. His smile drops and he stops. I turn back after a minute to raise a brow. "What?"

"Do you have frequent times where you just want to kill yourself?" I nod slowly. Well, yeah, it has been happening over the previous five months. "Okay, don't freak out, but you're in danger."

I gap. Danger? Okay I know you can go a little over the line (or tossed overboard off the Titanic into the iceberg), but huh? "Why the F*CK do you say that?"

He walks up and holds up a needle. "Okay, do you have an ice ring?" I nod. "I need to take some blood from it. Is that alright?" I nod and lift up the tank top a little above the abdomen, still hiding the strapless bra. He slides the needle throw the ice, much to my astonishment, and drags it out filled with dark colored blood with sickly chunks of frost here and there (vampire lemonade!). He squints at it and cocks his head to the side. "Huh."

"What's 'huh'?" I snap, pushing the top back down.

"'Huh' is wondering if this has the disease or not."

My jaw drops and I blink. "What disease?"

He rests his hand next to his side. "Okay, do you know that thing is called a 'X' Negative?" I nod. "Okay, but how much do you know?"

"That it starts out as a cube inside your body," I count them off, "when you get to that boiling point, you explode and out comes a twin," he raises a brow, "it then forms an ice ring, and that it's a huge pain in the as*."

He shrugs. "Well, I want to be a doctor when I grow up, so I study it a lot. One time I met this girl who had it, although her Guardian Characters hadn't hatched yet. She had the ring and said she didn't have siblings, but what happened was she started getting weird and next thing you know, some doctors take her in and when I snoop around for results, I come up with some strange blood pattern."

"Define strange," I cross my arms.

"I mean there was someone's blood in her that wasn't hers…and it killed her."

_Get away_

I slump in the cardboard, Nana and Quartz pondering my explanation. "I've never heard of that before…" Quartz huffs, shutting her teal eyes and crossing her wrists behind her back.

"Are you sure he said that she was acting weird and her blood was fused with another?" Nana wonders. I nod my head, eyes wide with the cold and arms wrapped around my knees. "Well, I've heard something similar, just not quite that."

"What is it?" I demand, my tone wavering.

"Well, if someone has an 'X' egg, yet they're still conscious, they create this weird system that's highly contagious. Usually someone who catches it is as happy as they can be, and with the 'X' Negative, you're barely happy. I've heard they're driven to sudden suicide, not gradual craziness."

I slump and hug my knees harder to my chest. "What should I do? I want to know more."

"Maybe you should call someone?" Quartz shrugs.

I shake my head with the high hazel ponytail. "If I do that, who knows what might happen?"

Nana sighs. "Look, if you're still scared about Easter, they probably forgot it."

I huff. "What if they didn't, huh? Besides, I have to use my phone wisely, since I only have so many minutes left and I'm near broke to pay for more!"

"Then get another job!" they squeak.

"If I do that, I'll have to get a low one, and they don't pay much."

"It's better than nothing!" Nana groans.

"You try doing this, okay? It's not easy!"

"WE'RE HERE AREN'T WE?"

I sigh and shuffle further into the box. The longer it's been since we left, the more we fight. I stare down as the puddles in the asphalt ripple with the breeze. Nana and Quartz fly onto my shoulders and scoot close to my neck for warmth. What was I thinking when I left? That I'd learn something out of this? That I'd live to see Kaki, Mom, and Step-Dad again? I grit my teeth and crawl out of the box, yanking the back-pack out and slumping it over my shoulders, the rolling suitcase having LONG been destroyed in a 'rage quit'. "Where are we going now?" Quartz rubs a bloodshot eye.

"Home."

**A.N: Okay, so I know I said it would probably be February 1, 2012, but I couldn't help myself :-). So, I hope you review (and to that stalker comment, Maki just had a bad day). **


	2. Plane

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 2_

**Plane**

I yawn as Mack studies the blood vial in his hands. I still don't get how he convinced his Dad to go to Japan, but he did. Honestly I didn't ask him to, I just wanted to have a small goodbye and give him another sample (the one in his hands), but of course he made up so many excuses I couldn't keep track of them all. White ear-buds are crammed into my ears, 'My Name Is' by Eminem (American Rap song) blaring into my brain to make it rattle. The airport is nice and white, any patches of carpet deep blue and the cushioned seats of the same color. Nana and Quartz are goggling at the egg like idiots, eyes wide and arms back. I have the thirteenth volume of Vampire Knight clutched in my hands, the ink loaded pages flipping every ten seconds with a soft _THWACK_. It's in Japanese, pretty much the only books I have that are.

"_All passengers for Flight 57, France to Japan, please be ready to board momentarily."_

I sigh and rip out the ear-buds, slamming a pale thin finger on the pause and standing up, the heavy backpack clinging to both shoulders with the raged straps and the black combat boots up high and slightly hidden under the ankle cargo jeans. The sky-blue tank top has spaghetti straps and is nearly see through, so you can see a faint outline of the strapless bra, which I sort of cursed myself for, but I was in a rush this morning. A line forms and Mack and I stand next to his dad, Mr. Kelsler, a tall man with black croppy hair and the same wide iliac eyes as his pervert son (not taking any chances…). He's reading a French newspaper and a Japanese one, so I can safely assume he knows multiple languages. I mumble a few lyrics to the song in Japanese and I stare up at the ceiling. It's at least fifteen minutes before the speakers squeal.

"_Flight 57 boarding."_

The line moves gradually, like we're all moving through some thick fat mass of gelatin. I groggily hand the young lady the ticket and she waves me into the gray tunnel. I walk in and try to keep my pace rapid until I walk through the door, the point of no return. I walk through and eventually find it a one-seat available situation. The problem is I can't find that one seat. I look back to discover I was the last in line. I sigh and I feel someone poke my back. I turn to a girl my age with curly blonde hair and a French blue dress. I can clearly see the Guardian Character hovering over her shoulder. "Do you need a seat?" she asks in a aristocratic tone. I nod. "Well, sit down." I sit in the seat next to her. I hook the house off the belt and set it in my lap, plucking the roof off and watching the eggs slightly rattle with Nana and Quartz's snores. I grin and set the roof back into position. "So you have Guardian Characters?" the girl next to me asks, sitting up with closed eyes and nose up (literally).

"Yes," I blink. "I see you have one to." She nods curtly. "What? No snap back, comeback, rude remark? Jeez, what happened to your childhood?" I roll my eyes, slumping back and tapping my knee to the rhythm of 'My Name Is' by you-know-who-since-I-already-mentioned-it. I feel a slight tremor in the house, so I open it to see Quartz rubbing her head, the egg slightly open. I guess the tremor was her slamming the egg against the ceiling. "Really?" I mouth at her.

"Ouch…" she whimpers, flying out of the egg and shutting it, sitting on the top. "That hurt…"

I roll my eyes and pick her up, setting her on my left shoulder and shutting the house. "So that's you're Guardian Character?" the girl next to me scoffs.

I huff and scowl at her. "What's yours supposed to be, huh? At least mine can be classified into something other than an egotistical little-"

Quartz covers my mouth. I glare at her and turn back around, Quartz sighing and flying onto the roof, looking up at me while kicking her legs. "Cha?" I look down at her. "Are you going to call Mrs.?"

"What a dope," I hear the girl mutter.

I growl and cross my arms, having a pretty tempting idea to stuff that little Guardian Character with the booming magenta dress and wide hat and long russet-brown hair into the PR*CKS throat (much like what I tried to do to Ikuto last time I saw him). I sigh at the memory of that pervert cat. He was a good guy (when he wasn't treating me like his own personal sex doll), with moonlight hair and deep blue eyes, like mine a bit, but more teasing/seductive. I take out the flip cell phone with lavender stained metal for a cover with a teal quarter note at the back and a small one at the lower left corner at the front. I switch it open and scroll through the messages, the power only enough for an hour. I look through to find a forty-five minutes worth of messages from a rather P*SSED Amu and a lonely Kio, one from Mom and several from the therapist office, saying I needed to come in soon. I shut it off and shove it back in the pocket, checking the wallet and scrolling through the fifty bucks, one thousand yen, and eighty Euros I had left. Maybe when I get back I can find a way to turn the Euros and bucks into yen? I have high doubts it won't be much, but it's better than nothing.

I shove all it back into the black cloth wallet and the usual announcement rings. I lean back and shut my eyes, but not after long something smacks my face. I blink and look down to see Quartz blinking up at me. I look further down to see a rubber band. I sigh and pick it up, plopping it on her head. She laughs and sits on the back of my hand while trying to play with it. I giggle and another tremor emerges from the house, so I lift up the roof to the exact same position Quartz had, only with Nana. I lift her out and set her next to Quartz, shutting the house and hooking it onto my lap once more. The plane takes off slow and steady and gradually speeds up until we're in the air and flying. Mom, Amu, Kio, Kaki, Ikuto…here I come!

_Get away_

I scroll through the airplane magazine and shove it back. All they have in those SH*T packs they call 'magazines' is mere CR*P (not saying the magazine). Mack walks by and freezes, turning to me. I shrug and he continues his way to the bathroom, which I can't really blame him for since it's not a short trip. I mean from Florida to Arizona (America) is three-five hours, but France to Japan? That's a twelve-thirteen hour flight people. I don't have that much entertainment material, even for you guys! Trust me, it's making me want to jump out of the plane and explode for A) ratings and B) SOMETHING TO DO! Even slitting my throat is _more _tempting now even without Kaki stuffed in my body (DO NOT THINK I MEAN THE ABSOLUTE WRONG WAY)! I rest my head in my hands and check the rainbow watch. It's only been and hour, so just ELEVEN MORE F*CKING HOURS TO GO PEOPLE! Of course I doubt I'm going to LIVE long enough to write up till then. I drag out the laptop, which I haven't used AT ALL and log into Swords and Skulls, which I haven't played in FOREVER (sorry, but exhaustion makes me bonkers).

_Mai Tam-Yo. Anyone here? _

_Huda Jig-MAKI!_

_Mai Tam- Ah SH*T._

_Kai Tam-YOU MOTHER F*CKER! (Runs up and hugs) I MISSED U!_

I blink at the screen. _Mai Tam-Who R U?_

_Kai Tam-…Look at the name Maki. Who's name has only ONE difference between ur name?_

_Mai Tam-…kill-me-now._

_Kai Tam-Oh jeez nice 2 c u 2 as*hole_

I roll my eyes. _Mai Tam-Hey, I never met ur other GC_

_Kai Tam-Oh, you mean Cassie? I'll put hr on._

I wait a few moments, searching random barrels in Port Royal (an old Caribbean island renamed), and not after long…_Kai Tam-HELLO! I'M CASSIE! GC OF-_

_Huda Jig-Hyper activity?_

_Kai Tam-No…(pout face) to rap._

I feel my jaw drop to the equator. _Mai Tam-THAT'S UR SECOND WISH? THIS COMIN FROM A HOMOCIDAL D*CK FACE WITH SOME HIRU GC FOR KICKING AS*!_

_Kai Tam-Hey, y u complain? My dreams are MY dreams._

I sigh. _Mai Tam-K, K. U just…what? I mean why rap? You want to become like Eminem?_

_Huda Jig-?_

_Mai Tam-American Rapper _

_Huda Jig-K. 1 thing…WHERE HAVE U BEEN?_

_Mai Tam-Asia_

_Huda Jig-WE'RE IN ASIA!_

_Mai Tam-Look, I've been to )America and )France_

_Kai Tam-Where's the A and B?_

_Mai Tam-Look, I've been to A)America and B) France_

_Mai Tam-HAPPY?_

_Kai Tam-Vry._

_Huda Jig-Jeez, can we stop sidetracking and get to the explanation?_

_Mai Tam-Kai, side track and I'll give u a skull ring_

_Kai Tam-How can u, ur…_

Then she grows something we people like to call a _brain_. _Kai Tam-OMG U COMMIN HOME? EEEEEP!_

I sigh. _Mai Tam-Logged Out._

Okay, I swear SHE needs to see a therapist, not ME. I think I've changed ever since she got out, but yet again I still try to kill myself here and there, lamely but still. Once I jaywalked while there was a car coming (it missed), pills when I didn't need them (someone took me to a doctor), slit my throat (it was too cold in Alaska, so I had to chuck it away and focus on WARMTH), and one last attempt of shooting myself (thing was out of bullets). Honestly, I gave up because I took it as a sign that I needed to live, so yeah, I stopped being naïve and thinking ending my life is the way to solve everything and moved on with life. I feel a cramp in my stomach and wince as my arm starts to have some shooting pain. I sigh and stand, rushing to the ladies bathroom and finding it vacant, so I barge in and there's a sick feeling in my stomach, so I unhook the house and set it on the counter, Nana and Quartz rushing into their eggs as I lift up the seat and puke. No, it's not vomit, it is blood, and there's no mistaking it. My stomach twists and my head pounds. I grip my stomach and more blood comes up, the world around me revolving. I groan softly and flush it all down, wiping off my mouth and rinsing it under the faucet, despite the sheer filth it carries. I exit after clearing all evidence of _that _and decide to catch up on many missed hours of sleep. I return to my seat and fall into the dark called _Sleep Deprived._

**A.N: Well, like I said, I couldn't help myself. I just love writing, you know? Small question that's been nagging me: Do you know any songs that'd fit Maki's personality? I mean 'Bodies' by Drowning Pool is an obvious choice for Kaki but Maki…well…I just want to see what the reviewers (A.K.A-the people who aren't rude and don't at least acknowledge your reading the thing) think, since everyone has their own sight of things…right? Well, I'll update soon (unless the world ends in the next hour or so).**


	3. Stuck in My Head 1 and 2

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 3_

**Stuck in My Head 1 and 2**

"Maki…" I feel someone sake my shoulder. I snort. "Maki…" Again, I snort in my sleep. "MAKI!" I scream and jump up, holding my _wallet _as a weapon. Mack plucks it from my fingers and looks in it. "I say your first stop is a _bank_."

I snatch it and shove it back in my pocket, reaching up for the cabinet to snatch out the aged backpack. I slump the left strap over the right shoulder with my right hand and storm out of the airplane at a ticked off pace. I step out of the grey tunnel into a white airport and suddenly, I loose every means of air. I blink with my eyes practically bulging out of my skull and push the person off to see Kio. "CR*P," I mutter.

"Where have you been, cutie!" he laughs, hugging me again. "I've missed you!"

I blink and push him off again. "Uh…why are you in the airport?"

"I have a job and Hinamori called me about you coming home, so…AH I JUST MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

He tackles me again and this time a weird choking soud is produced. "GET…OFF…PLEASE!"

He laughs and pries off, Mack walking up with an eyebrow raised. "Who's this?" he asks.

"Oh Mack, this is Kio Maya. Kio this is Mack Kelsler," I laugh nervously. "He paid for my flight here."

"Dad did actually," Mack corrects.

"Nice to meet you man!" Kio laughs, slapping Mack in the shoulder. Mack winces. Huh. "Well, I hope Maki was nice on the flight, she does get weird at times…"

"Hey!" I laugh, slapping him in the upper arm. "I'm just expressive."

Kio ruffles my hair and Mack chuckles, dragging me off a little ways. "And you said you didn't have a boyfriend," he teases.

I blush and slap him upside the head. "I'm single!"

"Honestly, you two look like you're about to-"

I cover his mouth. "Just shut up! Jeez you're beginning to get even _more _annoying than Ikuto!"

"Who?"

I cover my mouth. Jeez I haven't seen Ikuto in months and I'm already complaining. I shake my head and wave a hand. "Never mind, it's not important."

Mack smiles and Kio pulls me back, beaming. "So, do you need a ride home? I'm sure you must be exhausted."

Mack pulls me back, so both of their hands are capturing my elbows. "Ha, yeah, right. She was already snoozing on the plane. I'm sure she wants to stretch her legs a bit, you know? Get some exercise to keep up the pretty figure."

I blush softly, and Kio yanks me his way. "I'm pretty sure she would want to go home to see her family. To rest. To catch up with the world we call Japan."

Why am I sensing all-out war between these two? Jeez…I. Don't. Get. Boys! Mack yanks me his way a little harder, making me feel like a rope over a mud puddle or a sex doll between two Ikutos (…). "You know her so well…how?"

"I went to school with her and we went on a _date_," Kio laughs with faint malice in his voice (hopefully it's used wrong and he's not planning to commit homicide). "How do you know MY Ma so well?"

"Ma? Wait she's you're _Mom_?"

"HOW ARE YOU SPEAKING JAPANESE?" I blurt out. They stare at me, so I smile and wave. "One other thing…STOP TREATING ME LIKE I'M A SHARED SEX DOLL!"

_That _earned stares (and some jack as* has a camera which caught that). Kio chuckled and let me go on his side, Mack following his example, save the chuckling and replaced it with a glare aimed at Kio. "We're not trying to treat you like 'a shared sex doll' Ma, just a cute little girl who loves music."

I blush. He remembered that? "Wow…I can't believe you have a memory span long enough to remember that," I giggle.

He laughs. "Yeah, I'm pretty stupid."

"Yes," Mack pulls me closer to him again, "you are. Honestly Maki, do you want to go home when it's only 7:00 P.M?"

I shake my head. "A walk sounds good," I hop on the balls of my feet. "Get's me to move a bit."

Kio nods. "Okay, then I'll take you out for a little walk. What say you?"

"No I'll take her on the walk," Mack chuckles. "She doesn't need some imbecile to lead her through the streets where you could die and she could get raped, because she's just luring like that."

I laugh. "Gee, thanks for the confidence Mack. Why don't you both come and settle the issue?"

They glare at each other and eventually nod, so Mack gets permission from his dad to go and Kio gets permission from his parents, leaving me sitting on a chair tapping 'Two Steps Back' by Saliva on my thigh. I hear someone's ringtone and raise a brow, looking around to see Mack fidgeting with a cell phone. He walks over, banging the phone on his elbow crook. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up."

I giggle and he looks up at me. "If you're having problems," I stand and pluck the phone from his fingers. "Turn it off."

I switch it off and return it. He smiles. "Thanks."

"Anyways…what was that ringtone?"

"Oh you mean the song I used?" I nod. "That's 'I'm Alive' by Becca. I know it's weird I have it, but my stupid older sister put it on."

I shrug. "I like it."

He blushes. "R-Really?" I nod. "Well…you are a girl."

"It doesn't sound like it's tied to girls only," I shrug. "In fact what music is?"

"HEY!" Kio calls. "Wait up!"

I then notice Mack was pushing me away from the area, so I flick his nose. "Be fair."

He smiles and rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry."

So after a little while of maneuvers and turns, we burst out of the doors panting for sweet air, not the poor excuse of air called cigarette smoke some as*hole tried to pull off. I wipe some sweat off my head and freeze when I hear Quartz humming. I turn to her, recognizing the 'I'm Alive' by Becca. "Really?" I mouth.

She stops and shrugs. "I like it."

"Of course you do, you're _me_."

She nods and I get to straighten, walking down in between Mack and Kio both having my elbows AGAIN (jeez I think my life is slowly becoming 'Bodies' by Drowning Pool). I mean seriously they just met and they have an all-out-war on each other? That happens in bad stories. NOTHING. ELSE. I hear humming, but I can't catch who is. Next thing you know…"You really like that song huh?" Mack chuckles.

I stop and cover my mouth. Again? I sigh. Well, it's a good song, but usually I NEVER get songs stuck in my head. Maybe it's my destined song for life? I shake the thought out. That would mean whatever is in my head and stuck there is my future whatever…and I refuse to let Ikuto become my future…ZIP! NOT SAYING ANY MORE! Y-You're all just a bunch of alien stalkers p-probing me! Wait…can aliens read and speak our languages? WHY AM I EVEN THINKING THIS?

"_I'm so sick of wasting time_

_Nothing's moving in my mind_

_Inspiration can't be found_

_I get up and fall but…"_

I cover my mouth to the stop of the song. I grit my teeth and dig my nails into my nails (remember my nails are longer these days). Mack and Kio cock their heads and try to take a step forward, but I storm past them, mumbling curses and 'that stupid pedophile kitten mother of FCKING HLLSVILLE'. You get the picture right? Seriously, having something stuck in your head isn't pleasing, talking to all those people who never get something stuck (short memory span is what I think is the cause). That's when I hear something squealing in my ears and widen my gaze, snapping my head up and Nana Character Changing along with me, the lavender rose pendant appearing to symbolize it, and I jump up high with soft glitters trailing, a car smashing into the wall behind where I was. I gulp and flip in the air, landing next to the smoking automobile. I jerk the car open and find a guy there, coughing and holding a beer bottle. I sigh and leave the door open, walking away. If he decided to drive drunk, eh, he's stupid.

_Get Away_

Nana and Quartz are holding rolls of duct tape while my mouth is in a thin layer (enough to breath [I'm a nose breather, but it's been clogged lately!]). I sigh and pluck it away from the two, stuffing it in my pocket with Kio shaking his head softly and Mack full-out laughing at me. Well, what do you expect? Me to be hurt? Dudes and ladies, it's the to-be-expected! I sigh and shake my head. _Focus Maki. If you ever want a boyfriend or a plain out friend, you need to focus on the present. _I hug my ribs and stare up at the sky. Kio is hugging my shoulders while Mack is _also _holding my shoulders, but I bite the snap of 'are you two just using me as an excuse to touch each other?' for no more embarrassing YouTube future.

"Wow, the park today is beautiful," Mack smiles.

"Eh, not as beautiful as you, Maki," Kio smiles.

I fake a smile. If you remove 'Maki', you could easily mistake that as an actual response. I sigh in that 'who cares' monotone and keep going forward, Kio and Mack letting me go. I giggle and next thing you know, I bump into someone. Before I can even look up, I'm being smothered in someone's chest. As I push to get the guy (thought: mother FCKING JACKAS who should go and FCK his DCK cause he won't let me go), I hear them _chuckle_. I mean _chuckle_? That's mean! "Aw, you didn't tell me you were coming back."

I freeze. HOLY SHT IT'S STUCK IN MY HEAD #2! Wait…WHY DID I JUST TELL YOU THAT? FCK! "IKUTO LET GO!" I scream, pushing still.

He just goes on and chuckles. "You're too fun to tease though."

"Hey let her go!" Kio snaps.

"Who the Heck are you anyway?" Mack growls.

I manage to break away and I throw a fist in the air. "I'M ALIVE! WHOOP!"

I hear someone take a picture and freeze, slowly turning to see the JACKAS with the camera once again.

_Get Away_

"JEEZ CALM DOWN!" Mack screams as he tries to pry me off the kid.

He manages and the kid runs, screaming, black, purple, yellow, red, and aquamarine! I smile at the dark combination and continue the walk, Kio and Mack just gaping while Ikuto follows me, like usual. I'm too stupid and let the song escape ONCE AGAIN.

"_I'm alive_

_I'm alive_

_Oh yeah_

_Between the good and bad's where you'll find me, Reaching for Heaven!"_

Ikuto chuckles like the perverted jerk he is. "I never thought I'd hear that voice again."

I freeze. "Again?"

"_Find me the people, find me the sky! Save me from the dark, turn me to the light! I refuse to die! I refuse to turn!"_

I gap at his smirking face. "Y…You saw that?"

He nods and traces my left cheekbone with a finger tip. "Why wouldn't I…" he leans next to my ear, "_Ma_."

"You know, now that I think about it," I mutter, "you've been calling me your mom an awful lot when we see each other."

He chuckles next to my ear and…

Lick!

"YAHAYHA!" I gasp, covering the ear. "HOLY SHT CAN YOU NOT GO ONE DAY WITHOUT LICKING ME?"

He shrugs, hands in his pockets. "It's fun to tease you."

I sigh and shove my hands into my own pockets, storming away but turning back only once. "STUPID MOTHER KITTEN PEDOPHILE!"

_Get Away_

"_Nothing I say comes out right_

_I can't love without a fight_

_No one ever knows my name_

_When I pray for sun it rains."_

My feet slightly hop to the beat of 'I'm Alive' by Becca as I walk into my house. "HEY! I'M HO-"

I'm tackled to the ground. "MAKI!"

"GET OFF ME KAKI!"

Mom comes in, laughing. "Kaki missed you is all."

I push Kaki off and Hidu, with two black curly pigtails like Kaki has now, a black tank top with a white 'X', a white ruffle skirt, mid-shin black boots with white and black stockings coming out to the knee and straps attached to them rising under the skirt, a tiny black top hat with a white ribbon and black dots on the ribbon angled next to the left pigtail, and no claws, much to my surprise. I raise a brow and Kaki gets off. "She's why I can turn into my 'X' Negative form. You are the main body, so you have the slightly opposite."

I nod and some Character with blood shoulder hair, a backwards baseball cap, baggy black pants, a white tank top with a black 'X' button on the left strap, white sneakers, multiple rings on different fingers (most skulls and 'X's), multiple bracelets, some fat and some thin, and two black stripes painted across her cheekbones. "Yo! I'm Cassie!"

I giggle. "Nice to meet you Cassie!" I hear Quartz greet.

"Yo!" Cassie pats her back. "I see you're a culture dream?" Quartz (also Quartzite) nods. "Well, I have a guess you'll be Character Transforming an awful lot!"

Quartz beams and Nana starts to circle my head. "Maki-cha…" she sighs, "when can we get some rest? Flying isn't easy you know…"

I nod and hike upstairs, opening the door to my room and plopping onto the soft bed, my aching back being named and I close my eyes to blink, but I never reopen them, so I'm left to think about 'I'm Alive' by Becca, the lyrics thankfully echoing in my head and keeping a smile on my face, a real one, not a fake one I've had to pull for five months straight, and Ikuto, the only thing in my thoughts possibly making my eye twitch madly.

**A.N: I have to thank Nightstream of StormClan for the 'I'm Alive' by Becca concept and Dayfeather+Nightstream of StormClan for their reviews for this story so far. :) I'm glad that I have readers who enjoy my work and I hope you keep reading (well, not like every single minute, because that's what we call _'obsessed'_, you know?). **


	4. Toa

**Note: NOT SUPPOSED TO BE BASED ON SERIES! It's just the general people come in at that grade and that's it! Well…I'm stumped on if Death Rebel should appear. If you can, review and tell me I should put Death Rebel in SOMEWHERE in this fan fiction. Hope you enjoy this!**

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 4_

**Toa**

I yawn and wake up to find myself in the arms of someone. I scream and jerk out, slamming hard into the chocolate carpet. I hear someone [NOT ME] yawn and move in the bed, clutching the back of my shirt. "Aw…get up already."

I scream again and shoot up (literally, Nana character changed) through the ceiling into the attic and shaking tremendously. I look down to see Ikuto on the bed, so I growl and drop down, crossing my arms. "What the FCK are you doing here?"

He cups my left cheek. "To see you of course."

I blush and he lets out a small chuckle, just one. I turn tomato and push him off the bed. "PEDOPHILE!"

He laughs as he gets up. "Alright, if you say so."

"I _know _so!" I snap. "Besides, aren't you done stalking me for Easter?"

He freezes for a short moment before walking over, making me back up against the wall to the right of the door and he places his palms on the wall next to my shoulders, leaning on them to get an INCH or two away from my FACE. "I never wanted to do that, just so you know," he whispers. "It's not like I had a choice."

"You always have a choice," I sigh. "It's just the consequences of that choice."

He nods gently. "Yes, well the consequence of not 'stalking' you as you like to put it was that _they _would get you."

I blink. "I fended them off when they came here…"

"That's because you already knew everything about your 'X' Negative," he withdraws a hand to tap my abdomen lightly.

"Not everything…" I mumble.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing," I sigh. "Just nothing."

He holds my chin with the withdrawn hand. "Tell me."

I gulp. Jeez why does he have to be such a perverted guy? Note this: I'm worried for my SAFETY of NO PREGNANCY, that is the ONLY reason I'm telling him.

_Get away_

"I see…" he sighs, lying back on the bed.

I twiddle my thumbs sitting on the right edge of the bed. "Mack doesn't think I have it," I add. "But I might and…I'm a little scared…"

Suddenly he jerks me down and he's hugging my neck, his breath tickling the skin. "Don't be scared, Ma…I'm here when you need me." I can feel him smirk. "For anything."

I gulp and clutch his platform and try to jerk it off, but he's…eighteen now and I'm twelve, soon to be thirteen. It's…let's see last time I checked it was March…five months means it is August, so it's summer. "Hey…" I ask. "When's your birthday?"

"December 1."

I blink. Okay, so he's still seventeen. "Got 'cha."

He nuzzles his head into my left shoulder, making my blush worsen and my temperature seem to go higher. "Why are you always so tense around me?" he chuckles into my skin.

"You're a _black cat_," I sigh. "I'm superstitious and will taser you if you don't get off."

The rest is pretty much all taken from _that _sentence.

_Get away (I have a taser!)_

Amu walks into my room seeing me shock the living CRP out of Ikuto. "What the FCK?" she gaps. "Hey don't hog it!"

"Oh it's nice to see you to Amu!" Ikuto snaps, scrambling to get away from the taser while I'm not pressing the button (I don't care what people say it's NOT a stun gun!).

Ran, Miki, and Su all fly in, panting and blinking. "Why didn't you shock Yoru?" Su blinks.

I look around. "Speaking of which…where _is _Yor-"

Something speeds through the open window (guess) and slams into my forehead. "Sorry-nya!"

Yep. "Gee, THANKS."

"I said sorry-nya!"

I tase him out of annoyance (no, nobody's playing 'Bodies' by Drowning Pool in the house [or 'Murder' by Mystikal]). I chuck the taser at a wall and plop myself on the bed, wiping sweat off my forehead. Having gone and chased him around the room for who knows how long really can tire a person out. I hear a truck outside and look over to the window, Ikuto the only one of us…three people and five characters…eight to walk over and look into the street below. "A moving truck?"

Amu walks over and I push myself up, grabbing the American baseball cap and opening the door, walking down the hall with my hands in my pockets and my feet softly tracking down the stairs. Mom is baking something, Kip hovering over the countertop with a cooking book on top. "Hey Kip, hey Mommy," I sigh, sitting on the bar-seats (you'd think I'd know what they're called by now…).

"Hello Maki," Kip waves with a small smile (wide in her opinion). "We're baking cookies for the new neighbors."

"Aw…can't we ever be selfish and make some for ourselves?" I chuckle.

"There's cake in the fridge from your Dad's last birthday," Mom turns with a soft expression.

I sigh. "Step-Dad, Mommy, he's a Step-Dad."

I walk over to the fridge to find this HUGE cake (bigger than my head) and cut up in slices, one of those cake cutters next to it on a freezing plate (no duh, it's been in the fridge). I lift up one chocolate slice with a thin vanilla stripe in the middle and set it on the counter in front of my chair, grabbing a fork out of the silverware drawer and piercing the creamy first layer, digging it through until it makes a _DINK _with the plate at the bottom. I shovel it into my mouth and the oven blares. Mommy (yes, we're back to that drill again) opens the oven door and drags out a tin-foiled coated pan with HUGE, Grand Canyon (Arizona, America natural landmark) wide cookies! She sets them down and Kip digs around, eventually (with a lot of strain) dragging a cookie jar up and Mommy gently placing the cookies into the jar.

I hear footsteps and turn to the stairs to see Amu and the Characters, but absolutely no Ikuto. "What are the cookies for?" Amu wonders.

"New neighbors," Mommy and I answer together.

Mom wraps the jar with a white ribbon and unties the bow of her apron at the back, hanging the apron on a hook and carrying the jar to the door, so Amu and I open the door for her and I turn to Amu. "Watch Ikuto," I mouth. She nods and I shut the door, hearing the satisfying click of the lock after a second or two.

I hastily follow Mommy in her apparent rush to deliver the cookies while they're fresh and we stop in front of a four-story white house with a pure black roof and elegant window frames painted black, the door black with a silver handle curved delicately vertically. For some reason I'm reminded of 'Reptile' by Nine-Inch-Nails (do I really have to say they're American?) and shake that disturbing thought out before I picture reptile people living here. Oh right…too late. I cling to Mommy's (SHUT UP TO THOSE WHO ARE LAUGHING AT THAT!) arm and we walk forward to the front (black) gate. A young woman with (yellow) hair and (green) eyes opens the gates and smiles softly at us with small pale lips.

"Well hello!" she cheers, her voice sounding like someone's scratching a chalkboard. "Hey Miski, we have guests!"

"Not for long," I mutter.

Mommy stomps on my foot while facing forward with a strained smile. Jeez if she wanted me to shut up she could've just said it not stomp on my foot while she has high heels on! I mean OWW! A man with a thick platinum mustache and familiar gentle green eyes comes up behind her, earplugs luckily located in his ears. "Did you call me, dearest?"

The woman yanks the earplugs out. "We have guests!"

He's not even affected! Is he deaf in one ear or something? Deep earplugs located around the eardrum, it has to be something! I massage my left temple and Mommy laughs nervously. "Actually, we just came here to welcome you to our neighborhood with freshly baked cookies."

"Oh well aren't you a dear?" the woman cackles, excepting the jar with long bony fingers without a trace of a wrinkle and long polished nails with a blood base and lack stars, blue stripes crossing over from the lower left of the nails to the upper right. Her long yellow hair is up in an elegant bun with a silver comb bejeweled with sapphires and rubies and I swear an engagement diamond. She's wearing a sleeveless tight blood dress that ends at her knees, a thin black cotton jacket stopping short at her lower ribs is unzipped and the sleeves choking the arms, silver cuffs at the wrists. I can also notice the devil black Prada (it's some American shoe [did I spell it right?]) that have the heels two inches from the ground. She has a silver chain with little droplets filled in with sapphires and (thankfully) lacking a necklace.

Her husband has a grey suit all closed up to hide the shirt with brown loafers at the bottom, his hair combed back and silver glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He has a brown leather band watch on his right wrist, symbolizing he's left handed, and there is a small freckle at the corner of peach lips stretched into a smile. One thing…where have I seen these people before? "Well, I do hope you can come in," he smiles.

"No thank you," Mommy sighs, Kip sitting on her shoulder. "I have cookies to bake for my little daughter."

She pats my head. "Mom," I warn.

"Oh isn't she a cutie!" the woman squeals (I should just say cheer or speaks and you should get what I mean). "I have a son just her age!"

I gap. Oh FCK no. "S-S-Son?" I gulp. "Mom, I think we left the oven on."

"Yeah, probably," Mom rubs the back of her neck, nervous at my reaction. "Well I'll probably see you two la-"

"Mama, Papa, who's at the gate?"

I freeze. Blonde hair and green eyes of my height and age appear, and the boy gasps. "M-Maki?"

"Toa…" I gap.

"You know Toa?" the man asks.

I nod and Toa smiles. "She's a friend!"

IS HE DRUNK, ON METH, ON CRACK, OR WHAT? CAN HE NOT REMEMBER THAT HE PRACTICALLY RUINED MY LIFE? "No," I snap. "Just old classmates. I was _never _your friend."

"Well, maybe if you come in, we can be friends," he smiles, offering a hand.

I slap it away. "No!"

I run off to the direction of my house, slamming into something hard. I fall back and rub my head. "Oh I'm sorry! Do you need help?"

I blink up to some seventh grader with russet hair and shimmering green eyes. "Who the heck are you?"

"I'm Kukai Soma."

I present a hand. "Maki Kia."

He smiles. "Wow, so you're the girl Amu's been talking about."

I stand, wiping off the pants. "You know Amu?" I chuckle.

He nods. "She's a friend of mine."

I nod and watch as Amu and some blonde guy run up. "Maki, are you alright?" Amu pants as she approaches.

"Yeah, but who's the blonde?" I nod my chin towards said dude with checkered blue cape.

"He's Tadase, a friend of mine," she answers, blushing.

I nod and look back, seeing Mommy walking up. "I'm so dead," I mouth.

"Hey, are these your friends?" Mommy smiles at me. I nod slowly. "Well hello! I'm Mrs. Kia! Would you like to come into our house and have some cake?"

"You sure STEP-Dad would appreciate you giving away his birthday cake?" I raise a brow.

"He only ate a slice and said we could have it," she whispers.

They all nod and we enter my house, Mommy taking out the cake and handing me two plates. I raise a brow and she points to Kip, who laughs evilly. Sometimes I wonder about Mom and her dreams. "I never knew an adult with a Guardian Character," Tadase smiles.

Mommy shrugs. "Well, it's a long drawn out story."

A sporty jock character with green hair, a soccer outfit, and a star on his forehead sweatband flies up and a king like one. "Yo!" the soccer one greets. "I'm Daichi!"

"I'm King Kiseki, feel free to bow at my feet!" the king laughs in some form of triumph.

I giggle. "That's cute 'king'," he freezes, "nice to meet you Daichi!"

I walk upstairs and down the hall to push the door open with my back, seeing Ikuto snoring on the bed. I slightly smile at the PEACE in the room and set the plate on the nightstand with a fork on the plate's side, walking out and shutting the door quietly. Who cares if it's my bed, he needs the rest I guess. I walk to the counter and sit in the usual seat, now in between Kukai and Amu, Tadase next to Amu. "Hey, look who decided to return," Kukai laughs, patting my back.

"You got cake on you're face," I point.

"Where?" he asks.

I push a napkin onto his face. "There."

They laugh and Mom comes in with the apron. "What are you doing Mrs. Kia?" Amu wonders.

"Oh, just amking some cookies for the whining baby you're friends with," she laughs.

There is the revenge. "Gee, thanks. I went away for five months on my own choice and braved the worst and you call me a baby?"

"Speaking of which, what did you do while you were gone?" Amu wonders.

I think for a second. "I visited America and France."

"REALLY?" everyone gaps.

I nod. "I saved up. In America I got some new stuff, like this thing," I take out some 'alien popper' and push it against the countertop, the spring shooting up into the air and onto my forehead as it looks up. Kukai laughs and Amu and Tadase let out low giggles (Amu) and chuckles (Tadase). I roll my eyes and chuck it behind me. "I also met this interesting girl on the way here."

"Who?" Amu smiles.

"Some aristocrat chick," I shrug. "She had a Guardian Character with her."

Amu freezes. "Did she have blonde hair and a blue dress?" I nod. "That's Lulu!"

"You know her?"

"Yeah, I ran into her a couple of times."

Someone knocks on the door and I walk over to it, yanking it open only to slam it back into the frame and push my back against it, digging my heels into the ground to make sure _he _(oh yes, I mean the devil from powerpuff girls…WHAT DO YOU THINK?) doesn't get in. I pant and grab a roll of duct tape off the table, coating the door at least twice. They all stare as I chuck the roll away and dash up to my room, quietly opening the door and sneaking over to the desk to search for the letter opener. I start to panic when I can't find it and sigh, turning to the sleeping Ikuto with an accusing glare. I walk over and sigh, eyeing the pocket. Should I search? Well…I shut my eyes and edge closer to the pocket until I'm actually touching the edge.

"And you call me the pervert."

I scream and jump back, slamming into the wall next to the window and slicing my upper arm on the window pane. Yep, it's ALL real. Even my attempt to search his pockets! I mean seriously if THAT doesn't get reviews, I don't know WHAT will. I'm just SUPER glad there weren't any cameras to video that and post it on YouTube! "I-I thought you were sleeping!"

He turns on the bed to stare at me with a teasing gaze and wide, mischievous smirk. "Oh, so you wanted to show your true colors then?"

I growl. "SHUT UP!" I scream.

"Maki-cha, is everything alright?" I hear Tadase call up.

I gulp. "J-Just talking to my Guardian Characters!"

Nana and Quartz exit the one by one by one foot structure they built themselves. "Call us?" Nana rubs an eye.

I sigh and glare at Ikuto. "You better be quiet."

I exit, Nana and Quartz following me hesitantly. I run downstairs and wipe some sweat off my forehead. "HELLO!" Nana waves with one of those cone-phones for cheerleading. "I'm Nana!"

"I'm Quartz!"

"Quartzite," Nana corrects.

"Quartz," Quartz blinks.

"Quartzite."

"Quartz."

"I'm pretty sure it's Quartzite, Quartzite."

"I'm pretty sure _I _was born with Quartz."

"Come on guys," I laugh. "We have guests!"

They sigh and fly over to the small group of Guardian Characters circled around Kiseki. I return to the seat and someone knocks on the door once more. Mommy answers it. "Um…sweetheart?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are there two boys here with roses for you?"

**A.N: CLIFFHANGED! DU-DU-DUN! Okay, time to get serious (weird snowman face Miki created in episode fifty something). Okay, so like above, I'm stumped about whether or not to put Death Rebel in (sort of effects the WHOLE rest of the story if I do). Also, if you like polls, there should be one on my profile, so take a look. See you next chapter!**


	5. Sorrow

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 5_

**Sorrow**

I walk to the front door.

HOLD EVERYTHING!

Do you _really _think I'd walk to my own death? No, Kukai, Tadase, and Amu had to push me (took about a half-an-hour since I put up a fight) to the door to BOTH Maya brothers, the eldest being sixteen and me having dumped his as last time I was here. Lo AND Kio. Great…this is just my day. "U-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u" and so on and so 'I-never-reach-the-FCKING-'h'.

"Hello!" Lo greets. "I brought you some flowers to celebrate your arrival!"

"I brought you some flowers just in case my brother's smells kind of 'love-potion' y."

I laugh and accept both. "Thank you, you're too kind…" I kick the door shut and walk over to the garbage disposal, everyone gaping as I shred Lo's flowers up and dump the contents into the grinder, flipping it on and waiting for the screeching off the stem to cease with spurting some weird juice in my eyes. I wipe them clear and pluck a glass vase from a cabinet, filling it with water and plopping Kio's flowers in. "What the heck just happened?" Kukai wonders.

"Eh," I shrug. "No id-"

Someone bangs on the door and Amu opens it to Mack running in with that extra sample I gave him. "MAKI! We have trouble!" he grips his head and paces.

"What do you mean?" I raise a worried brow.

He points to the blood. "I studied this as thoroughly as possible and I see that the 'X' Negative blood is _increasing_."

I blink and walk into the back room to see Kaki snoozing on the couch. "KAKI!"

"YAYAHYA!" she screams, rolling off and onto the floor with a thick _DUNSHK!_ Well, if that's even a _noise_ that is. She pushes her torso up and rests her head in her hand, the hand pushing the elbow down, the legs crossing ankles flat against the floor, and the left hand tapping the floor with impatience. "What?" she snaps.

One word: _ME-YOW!_ I sigh and push that aside. "Can you help us?"

She turns over, Hidu and Cassie sitting on the coffee table watching her. "Why should I?"

"Because I'm probably going to die," I roll my eyes.

She jumps up and hugs me. "NO! I JUST GOT YOU BACK! I DIDN'T HAVE THE CHANCE TO TORTURE YOU AND SHOW YOU ALL MY DISEMBOWLING MACHINES!"

I push her away with that confused/disgusted look. "WHOA WHAT?"

She chuckles and lets go, shoving her hands into her pockets and winking. "Joking. If I did have some, I'd totally show Ikuto and that Kio chick first."

"Kio's a dude," I snap. "Second, look at the blood sample!"

Mack hands Kaki the blood vial and she squints. "Huh."

"Huh what?" Mack and I ask, the rest of the people still inside, whispering.

"Huh means 'that's interesting'," Kaki snaps. "That, and the 'X' Egg energy I'm getting from this."

I raise a brow. "Yes, but don't I have…I don't know…an 'X' Positive now?"

She shakes her head. "You have half the total amount of 'X' Negative because you used it to make me," she reminds. "Now, it's increasing, yes, but the reason why is not as simple as that."

"Huh?" Mack blinks. I'm silent.

"This is called 'S.O.R.R.O.W," she informs, "or (Slicing Oblivion Ruined Recklessly to Omnipotent Wails). It's like a more animal, wild, crazy version of what you saw while you met Lo."

I shudder. That voice wanted to kill Nana and Quartz. "So you're saying that I somehow caught this disease?"

She nods sadly. "Although, since you've already released me, it's not really effective unless highly provoked or poisoned. Therefore you install a survival gene into your nervous system and you go bonkers."

"Wait…so do all 'X' Negatives know this?" we ask her.

She shrugs. "Depends on what you mean. We can't talk to each other, but it's easy to sense when someone of the same kind is about to be dissolved in 'X' egg energy so high it could only come from a really messed up DCK."

I scratch the back of my neck. "Mack said it was something along the lines of contagious."

She shakes her head. "Not really. You have to be drained of 'X' Egg power, and that's RARE. I'm serious, you could look it up on _Guardian Character World. Com/'X' Negative/Draining_ and you wouldn't find it!"

I blink at the lame example. "Moving on," I smack my lips. "So, any signs or whatever?"

"Okay, first, you usually start freaking out at random points of time over nothing at all. For example, if I said something about fish not being as tasty without salt, you'd burst into flames and try to kill me."

"Figuratively right?" Mack wonders. Kaki nods. "Oh thank goodness."

"What about the second?" I intervene.

"Okay, the second is when you act like a complete moron. For example, you'd let Ikuto be the pervert he is and you'd just blush and moan."

"MOVING ON!" Mack and I shout.

"Alright!" she leans back, hands in the air. "Jeez! Okay, there's a third step where scars often start to burst in times of extreme stress."

"Does this all happen in order?" I raise a brow.

She shakes her head. "Well, that's all I can pretty much tell you now."

"Why?" Mack demands.

Kaki shrugs. "I only know so much. That's how life goes."

Yeah, more like how _my _life seems to go (thank you life for making me explode and ruining everything). I sigh and twiddle my thumbs, standing and walking out to rejoin the others. Mack informs me that he'll be studying the blood at home and Kaki joins us eventually, of course making ME look like the idiot.

_Get Away_

I whistle 'I'm Alive' by Becca (I'm starting to get used to it actually) while Ikuto disinfects the big gash on my left upper arm I received from chasing Kaki around the house after Kukai, Amu, and Tadase (plus Guardian Characters) left. Like _that _ended well. "You are such a child," Ikuto chuckles once he grabs the bandages.

I shrug. "I'm twelve. What's _your _excuse?"

He chuckles. "At least I don't try to touch someone in their sleep."

I blush and shake my head, remembering when I woke up this morning. "Yes you do! You were in the bed when I woke up with your arms around me!"

He's in that cute…okay, scratch the cute…thinking phase and smirks at me. CRP. "Sure, but that's different from you sticking your hand in my pocket when I was sleeping…" the D*MN hypocrite slips his right hand into my right pocket, his arm rubbing against my back as he shifts a bit to be even MORE closer to me. Is it just me or is he treating more as a paid slut now than a sex doll? "See, now you're not even fighting it…" he leans next to my left ear, the breath tickling the skin, "pervert."

I jump, his hand ultimately sliding out of the pocket. "WHOA! I'm not the pervert! You're seventeen, and I'm twelve. Who's most likely to win?"

He shrugs, his right shoulder rubbing against my left, and next thing you know…

Say it with me now.

NIBBLE!

What did you think I'd say?

BOOM?

Scream?

Eek?

Cat chasing mouse with mallet through the bathroom?

Sex time?

WHAT?

Honestly, if I was _right_, you're a UNIQUE person by FAR. I black out for a second and then I find myself next to the mirror, holding scissors I thought to be lost, and Ikuto is holding his ribs, as if a cannon ball barely deflected off it. I shake my head and stare at the scissors. I tap my head and…

"_Okay, first, you usually start freaking out at random points of time over nothing at all._"

"KAKI!"

_Get Away_

"I'm telling you for the fifteenth time counting Maki," Kaki whispers to the higher cabinet in the kitchen closest to the window above the sink, "I did not mean it _that _way."

"Then I'd need a better example!" I hiss.

"Alright…so if someone just said something random, like that fish are good, you'd be screaming and arguing against it. Attacking someone randomly…that's something that happens when the 'X' Negative feels like it's in danger."

"How is someone nibbling my _ear _on my _head _a danger to the _abdomen _all the way in the middle of the _torso_?"

"Maybe he touched it?"

"Well…his right hand was stretching across to get to my right pocket…"

"See?" she sighs. "Maybe he just rubbed against it too hard."

"Shouldn't you know? You came from it!"

She's silent for a second. "Yeah, he pressed against it at a pressure it thought was going to crack it. Speaking of which…why are there cracks?" I feel my stomach twist and curse, flying out of the cabinet and my stomach twisting too much, so I barf right then and there, on the floor, in front of Kaki's eyes. "OH MY GD! IKUTO! HELP!"

Ikuto rushes in, seeing me clutching the counter top and staring at my abdomen. He rushes over and lifts the top up to see the abdomen (thankfully where he can't see the bra) and there is the ring of ice with one giant crack in the center, a disconnected vein drooping out as I vomit once more. Kaki's eyes widen. "What is this?" Ikuto demands.

She stutters out two words… "'X'-'X'-'X' S-S-Sorrow-w-w."

**A:N: CLIFFHANGED! Man the Cliff noose doesn't like you guys. Well, I hope you review because face it, who doesn't love reviews for stories?**


	6. How I Hate Interruptions

**Note: I'm a weird person!**

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 6_

**How I Hate Interruptions**

Mack plucks the thermometer out of between my pale lips. "Jeez…it's normal!"

Ikuto pats my hand, looking a bit like it's his fault (which it SO is [see what perverted cats do to people]). Kaki is dressed up like a nurse, but the usual colors are reversed to a black short skirt and school shirt with a small nurse coat and hat, high black heels I find WAY too far with this Halloween Get-Up, and the cross on the hat is teal, not red (yes, that's the reverse color). Mack is in a T-shirt and shorts, sneakers and socks the only other things he has on and Mommy, Kio, Lo, and sadly Toa are downstairs in the 'waiting room' (A.K.A-the living room with a bunch of Manga and magazines now inhabiting it). I sigh. Jeez, if you ever want to make your home a hospital, ask Kaki, she can get a perfectly rusty version of one.

The phone rings and I shoot up, jumping for it, but Ikuto and Kaki try to hold me down since 'I need to rest'. THESE PSYCHOS ARE RUINING MY IMAGE FOR CHRSTS SAKE! "Hello?" Mack answers _my _phone. "Uh-huh. Yeah, listen…she can't go I'm afraid Hinamori-s-"

"GIVE ME THAT!" I scream, jumping out of the pinning and tackling him to the ground, fighting the phone out of his grasp. "HEY!" I'm laughing nervously. "Amu…how's it going?"

"Great over here," she sighs. "Are you alright though? I heard that you fell or something."

I scowl and turn to Kaki, who shrugs. I huff and pull a fake smile, even though she can't see me. "Yeah…that's it…it's not the fact that I blacked out and attacked Ikuto…nope…not-that-at-all."

She sighs. "I'm sure you didn't mean it."

"Dude, that's why I put the blacked out," I roll my eyes. "Well, I'm alive, so I don't need to stay in some FCKING CRPPY EXCUSE FOR A HOME HOSPITAL (Kaki chucks a pillow at my head). So what did you want to go t-"

Ikuto plucks the phone out of my fingers. "Sorry Amu, but she has to stay here until we can find out what's wrong."

I growl and tug on his pants, seeing I'm sitting with my butt on the floor and he's standing. Three words though:

I. Hate. Him.

He smirks and picks me up like I'm a baby, phone between his cheek and his shoulder and his left arm under my butt (PEDOPHILE I'M TELLING YOU THIS NOW), and the left arm holding my back. "See you later Amu."

Mack takes the phone out and ends the call. I scream, making everyone freeze. "WHAT THE FCK! I'M PERFECTLY OKAY TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Maki…" Mack sighs.

I scream again. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Kaki gulps. "Ikuto, try to calm her down while I get some water."

Ikuto pats my head and pushes my forehead into his right shoulder, sitting on the bed with my calves sitting on his thighs like a child on a babysitter (in this case, Pedophile and an innocent child [I'M NOT LETTING HIS PERVERTED KITTY WAYS BE UNANNOUNCED!]). "Shh…it's okay…it's okay…"

_(Short little side part)_

WHAT THE FCK DO I LOOK LIKE, A FIVE-YEAR-OLD? **Considering your height difference, yeah. **OH HOW THE FCK? LINKINPARKFAN9799 THIS ISN'T FUNNY! **I control everything that happens to you. Do you really want to go there? **GET ME OUT OF THIS FCKING CRP NOW! **(Evil Smirk)** Oh GD someone help me! Suddenly, I feel my hand go somewhere it _**SHOULD NOT**_ be. I scream and jump off. Ikuto's staring at where I just grabbed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! That wasn't me! Oh SHT you're SO going to get it!"

**Readers, should I continue?**

BACK OFF! (Pushing against side of the view [LOONEY TUNES!]). MY STORY! YOU'RE RUINING IT! **FINE! Jeez, have it your way molester. **YOU MAE ME TOUCH HIS NUTS! NOT ME! **I didn't do anything. You were under pressure. **GET-OUT! (Returning to me panicking about SOMEONE [**cough, cough** LINKINPARKFAN9799**cough, cough**] making me touch someone's nuts).

_(Short little side part/end)_

"I'M SORRY!"

Ikuto is still staring and Mack is blinking. "Did you just molest him?" Mack wonders.

"NO!" I defend.

Kaki returns, seeing Ikuto shocked and Mack blinking at me. "Did I miss something?"

_Get Away_

After _that_ little predicament, I went back to bed without argument. Ikuto decided to leave, but didn't say a single word to any of us. Mack and I explain what happened and Kaki laughs, making me raise a brow. "Oh wow! Dude, you created a part of your 'X' Negative that you _think _is controlling you!"

"Wait…are you saying she actually molested him?" Mack gaps.

I groan and put my head in my right hand, the left one due to be executed for 'raping' I guess. Someone knocks on the door and Kaki opens it to Mommy, Kip on her shoulders and both looking nervous as heck. "Can I talk to Maki alone for a second?" They nod and exit, so Mommy sits down on a chair Mack brought in for visitors. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

I shrug and Kip flies up to rest on the back of my pale hand. "Cheer up! We'll take you to your favorite restaurant afterwards!"

"Speaking of which, what is your favorite restaurant?" I look up on the headboard to see Nana and Quartz. Apparently they flew in when I didn't see them. "You never really told us."

I think about it.

_**I huff and he drags me into the dancing circle, well, the outermost of it. Since I'm, again, maybe a foot shorter (the half being a small exaggeration), I have to get on my toes in order to hold his shoulder, which he chuckles at and I kick his shin, making him freeze in a mid-chuckle and glare down at me. I laugh and he smiles, so guess what that means? He jerks me in a twirl and when it's done, he hand his hands gripping my shoulders and I'm dizzy. I feel like I should throw up on him, but what would Kio think? Oh great…MY LOVE LIFE IS OUT OF CONTROL! Granted Kio and Ikuto are both incredibly handsome, but Ikuto is a pervert and Kio isn't! I sigh and look over out of the room. I mouth 'help me' to Amu who gets it, but she can't seem to be excused. I gulp and Ikuto laughs at my misery, making me grow red and I freeze altogether.**_

"That restaurant with the dancing and that," I smile. It's where I can clear out, dance if I want to (in a certain way but still).

"You mean Maki's Ballroom?"

I blink. It's called that? I shake that thought out and nod, Mommy walking out with Kip following her smiling. I lay back and stare up at the ceiling. Jeez…this is a good time to get my feelings in check huh?

**MAKI'S FEELINGS**

**A. Love**

**1. (HATE TO ADMIT IT) Ikuto**

**2. Kio**

**3. Mack (HE3ME, not ME3HE; it's transparent with him you know)**

**B. Hate**

**1. Ikuto (50%-50%)**

**2. Toa**

**3. Easter**

**4. Saaya **

**C. WANT**

**D. NEED**

**1. THERAPY**

**E. Sad**

**1. Ikuto not seeing me**

**2. My friends hating me**

**3. IPod breaking**

**4. Having to move**

**5. Step-Dad**

**6. Getting humiliated by CERTAIN PEOPLE**

**7. Stupid Sorrow (the disease people)**

Well, that was a minute of my life wasted on a stupid mental outline I'm probably going to forget in a minute. Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted (how I hate interruptions) when someone bursts in. "Are you okay Maki?"

I look over to see Lo. "Oh FCK…HEY! KAKI AT LEAST PUT UP SOME-"

She comes in with a bad as security outfit, black leather, black sunglasses, and some fake tattoo that has a heart with 'MOM' on it on her cheek. Yep. She's everyone's worst nightmare. "Get out Jack, the patient needs to rest and you can't come in unless it goes through me!"

Lo blinks at her and turns to me. "Who's that?"

"Sister," I shrug. "Please leave," I sigh, rubbing my forehead. "I still don't appreciate what you did last time."

He sighs and nods, walking out calmly. Kaki shuts the door on her way out and I rest the back of my head on my arms, staring up at nothing. Yet again, my thoughts are interrupted. "Hey…Maki?" I turn to see Ikuto. "Can I come in?"

I nod and he sits in the visitors chair, his face stern, yet calm. I shrink. "Look, I'm sor-"

He then _kisses _me and this change occurs on the outline.

**A. Love**

**1. Ikuto**

**B. Hate**

**1Ikuto (75%-25%)**

I kick and push him off. "WHAT THE FCK?" I scream.

"Hey, you molested me, you'd think a simple pay back kiss is nothing," he smirks.

"Ugh…let-that-go!" I grunt. "Besides I think you enjoyed it you perverted cat."

He purrs (on purpose obviously) and leans his head down to my right shoulder, rubbing the side of the neck with the back of his head like a cat would (except it would be on the hand or something). "How am I the pervert?" he chuckles. "I never touched you like _that_."

I sigh. Yep, next time I look in a airplane magazine I'm buying anything that keeps you focused on thoughts and blocks out the real world until you want it to. "Ikuto, it wasn't on purpose…it's just something a part of the X-Negative did."

He nods. "Yep, uh-huh."

I roll my eyes in disbelief. "Ikuto, stop it!"

I push him off and he laughs. What is he drunk? He pats my head. "Okay, see you later," he leans next to my ear, "_my little kitten_."

Where did _that _come from? He gives the inside of my ear a tiny lick before leaving, shutting the door silently. I grab a pen and start jotting reminders of how I really need to talk to myself on why this FCKING mess is Rated T when there's a pedophile and some perverted 'X' Negative part of me.

**A.N: This was just like a little filler on how Ikuto and Maki get further into their…special…relationship. Hope you review and see you next chapter!**


	7. Cemetery

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 7_

**Cemetery **

I yawn and stare up at the ceiling. It's a brand new day and it's pouring out. Great. I whip off the blankets and sheets and stumble to the door, lifting up the pajama top a bit to see the ice in perfect condition. I nod happily and exit, walking gradually down the early morning lit hall and staircase, traveling to the living room and plopping onto the couch, snatching the remote and flipping through TV channels. There's an anime, there's a news channel, sports, weather, and finally one news channel with a rather disturbing headline. I raise the volume and lean in towards the screen, still having the coffee table and some floor distance in between.

"_Is it really okay for engineers to 'plow down' the Kai Cemetery with all the relatives, loved ones, friends, cousins, uncles, boyfriends, and even young girlfriends Resting In Peace in their graves? We find protestors are at the scene and objecting to this unfair and unjust act to the memory of those buried in that very place. One woman even brought a gun to the scene to reassure that her dead son's grave will not be disgraced by this threat of construction."_

I slump back. Kai Cemetery is where…I push up and leave the TV on, Mommy still sleeping and Kaki still devilishly planning in her room from lack of sleep. I swing the door open and ditch the umbrellas, dashing into the slippery cement towards the Cemetery. I cannot let them destroy that area. That's where Dad lies.

_Get Away_

I pant and huff as I near the black towering gates. Construction vehicles are all lined up in front of the gates and bystanders gather. I push through, screaming 'No, No, NO' over and over until I get to the front, dashing past the gates with a flower bundle I picked up along the way tight in my right fist. Someone tries to stop me, but I hurry past and slip on some mud, the cold seeping through the pajama top (yeah, I know) and my body shivering. I shake it off and kick myself up, skidding to a halt in front of a grey, weathered tombstone.

**Here Lies**

**Isis Kia**

**Depressed and alone, so he couldn't see the road.**

**Beloved Father, Husband, Son, Brother, Friend**

_**WE MISS U DADDY!**_

I kneel down to trace the messy letters from all those years ago at his funeral. I carved those in with permission from the church, them saying it was a good way to let him know that I'd always have him in my heart. So I traced these letters with my seven-year-old writing skills and this is the result, a weathered tombstone about to be plowed down. I stand and clutch the bouquet. I huff and start singing a song I heard once and it reminded me of this in a way my old man would find humorous.

"_I will not make the same mistakes that you did._

_I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery."_

People catch the tune and turn to me, gasping at the sight of blood dripping out of my mouth. It's happening, but I don't care.

"_I will not break the way you did_

_You fell so hard_

_I've learned the hard way to never let it get that far._

_Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk!_

_Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt."_

Some people who know English start to join in due to their shared woe and misery.

"_Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me!_

_Because of you I am afraid…_

_I loose my way and it's not too long before you point it out _

_I cannot cry_

_Because I know that's weakness in your eyes_

_I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh everyday of my life_

_My heart can't possibly break_

_When it wasn't even whole to start with!_

_Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk!_

_Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt!_

_Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me!_

_Because of you I am afraid…_

_I watched you die_

_I heard you cry every night in your sleep_

_I was so young _

_You should have known better than to lean on me_

_You never thought of anyone else _

_You just saw your pain_

_And now I cry in the middle of the night for the same DMN thing!_

_Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk._

_Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt!_

_Because of you I try my hardest just to forget everything!_

_Because of you I don't know how to let anyone else in!_

_Because of you I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty!_

_Because of you I am afraid…_

_Because of you."_

Taking a short breath, I see a few bystanders crying and those few whispering to others, making them cry and pass it on.

"_Because of you."_

The rain falls and I cough up blood, one of the construction workers sighing. "Look, everyone needs to get home! I don't want you ending up like that poor girl! We'll move the graves before we start just go!"

I shake my head and stand in front of Dad's grave. "YOU'RE NOT DISTURBING THEIR REST!" People nod and throw fists into the air. "THEY WERE BURIED HERE AND WE WANT THEM TO STAY-"-COUGH, COUGH-"THAT WAY!"

Bystanders start to come inside, standing next to people and standing strong. The rain beats down harder and people share umbrellas, but of course there are the heartless who remain outside and cheering for it to go on, which I find WAY over the line (more over the line than 'X' Negative). I sit next to Dad's grave and set the bouquet down in front of the 'WE MISS U DADDY' message, hugging my knees and whispering the song over and over. Like I said, my dad would have found that song funny in this situation. He would've said 'you know Maki everyone has to laugh at times otherwise they'll just grow up to be old sourpusses' and then he'd do this weird, constipated looking face and Mom and I'd laugh and have a good time. That's not the case anymore. I can no longer see that kind smile, those glittering eyes…hug him at night as he wished for the guardians of good to protect Mommy and I. I won't let Dad be disturbed in rest. Not now. Not ever.

"DUDE!" I scream, construction workers staring at me. "DON'T YOU SEE IT'S POURING OUT? DON'T YOU SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE CAME TO PROTECT THIS CEMETERY!" People stand and nod. The construction workers all cock their heads. "WE CARE ABOUT OUR LOVED ONES! YOU CAN'T-"-COUGH, HACK BLOOD, COUGH-"TAKE THEM TO SOME OTHER PLACE WHEN THEY WERE BURIED HERE FIRST! YOU CAN'T!"

I feel someone's hand on my shoulder and look up, slightly frightened. It's Kukai. "Yo!" he smiles. "Need some help?"

I nod and he sits down next to me (not on my father's grave DUH). "Thanks," I shiver.

He nods and holds his umbrella over me, slumping a warm coat over my trembling shoulders. A few representatives stand from the cemetery and walk to the gates, stopping before the line and talking to the workers about something.

_Get Away_

After a few hours, the representatives both return with PSSED looks all over their faces. Kukai rubs my back for warmth and I stare at the soggy grass below us. Why would anyone want to plow down a cemetery? I mean that's just plain cold, don't 'cha agree? The rain's still falling and we're still here, the construction workers trying to get us out under peaceful circumstances. Honestly I feel like stapling their heads to a furnace and leaving them there just because of all this haste so early in the morning and about plowing down graves. Besides, dead bodies under a place? Who wants the place smelling like a mummy's tomb in Egypt? I sigh and hug my ribs, hacking up yet more blood that splatters all over the grass. The abdomen is frigid as Heck to certain people and my exhales turn to frost in mid-air. Why is it this cold for me, but nobody else? Is it Sorrow? Is it the 'X' Negative?

"MAKI-SAN!"

I look up to see Nana and Quartz flying over, both stopping in front of me without a single breath lost. "Guys?" I whisper. "What are you doing here?"

"WHY THE HECK DID YOU RUN OFF!" Quartz gasps, falling backwards in the air to float on her back.

I chuckle and hold out a hand, so Nana flies onto the palm and Quartz gradually lies on the palm as well, just on her back. "Do you know what this place is?" I ask kindly. Nana and Quartz look around with their big iliac or teal eyes, looking up to me with transparent confusion. "This is a cemetery, where people are buried, and people want to tear it down."

"What?" Nana squeaks. I nod. "Why?"

I shrug and Daichi flies over to us. "Hey Kukai, you could've woken me up!"

"Sorry Daichi," Kukai laughs nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "I just wanted to help out protecting the cemetery."

I grin and stare up into the umbrella, Kukai clutching the trembling handle to make sure he doesn't go numb and not be able to be sure if he dropped it or not if turned around. Nana sits on my damp head and Quartz starts remaking the clothes into something warmer and less mud-covered, so I'm eventually wearing a black turtleneck, dark jeans, the black combat boots with silver buckles, and a simple gray jacket with one button in the middle and long sleeves rolled up and sewn to match my arm length. Quartz rests on my knee in front of my chest and stares at the flowers in front of the grave.

"Hey Maki," I hear Kukai mutter, "who's grave is this anyways?"

"My dad's," I mumble.

He nods. "I'm sorry for your loss. I hope he's having a good rest."

"Not for long if these construction DCKS don't clear out."

"Maybe someone's paying them to do this?"

"They get paid for everything they do," I remind him. "It'd have to be something else. Blackmail maybe."

He shrugs and Daichi with Nana start cheering on the protest efforts. Quartz plays a tiny flute, her being my wish for culture and all (meaning music, books [even though she's a bit of an airhead], art, ext.). I yawn and stand up to stretch, Kukai following this example because we might be here longer than anyone would guess.

_Get away_

The watch on Kukai's wrist ticks with annoyance. It's really only been ten minutes of sitting around in the rain with silence. I sigh and keep my ground, until I see a umbrella come around with a glint of blue. I focus on that instead of what the construction workers are devising and watch as it enters the graveyard. It walks over to us so I'm able to see the midnight hair and the black school uniform with belts (I believe) wrapped around the legs in a rather random fashion. "Ikuto?" I raise a brow.

I hear his famous chuckle and Kukai stands with alarm. "Relax," Ikuto smirks. He sits on the opposite side of the grave and smirks at me. "Hello Maki. Is this your dad's grave?"

Wow. Straight out question. I nod, a little stunned honestly. Ikuto nods as well and turns to the gates, watching the construction crew get into their vehicles and some remain on the side lines. I turn to Ikuto. "Why are you here?" I wonder.

He smiles kindly as if yesterday never happened. "I want to help you."

"Me," I point to my chest. He nods. "You want to help me, Maki Kia?" He nods again. "Well, alright…just no funny business!"

"Why would I in a cemetery?" he wonders.

I shrug. "You're just like that I guess."

I hear motors start and turn to the gates. CRP. _"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE NOW, WE'RE GOING TO PLOW YOU DOWN TO!"_

Kukai turns to me and I stay put. I'm not moving from this spot. I cough up some blood and Ikuto rubs my back in an attempt to make me feel better. I weakly stand, making Ikuto and Kukai stare at me, and I slip something from my sleeve, cool and sharp. I prick my thumb and feel the warmness drip down to the grass. Kukai places a hand on the letter opener. "Hey, stop that. It's not good."

I dig it in deeper. Ikuto stands, shaking my right shoulder. "Hey, snap out of it."

"**USELESS…USE less…Useless…useless…"**

"Useless…"

"Maki, not this again," Ikuto shakes it more aggressively.

"Dude what are you doing?" Kukai stands.

"Maki!"

People turn to see the blood fall. **"Dead…dead…dead…"**

"D…De…"

"MAKI!"

I see the blurry shape of a construction worker speeding over. I turn my head slowly to the tombstone. **"USELESS DEAD! USELESS!"**

I watch the rain beat down on the silk-soft petals. I feel drained of all life, but at least I have reason. I scrunch my eyes tight and sneeze, the force making me drop the knife and take a stride back. I clutch my head and sneeze again. That's when people start shouting, and shouting, and shouting, and-

"WAKE UP ALREADY!"

I open my eyes wide to the ceiling, looking around to my room. Without paying any heed to Ikuto, I dash out of the room and turn the TV on.

"_Well, construction for the Kai Cemetery will proceed as planned,_" the spokesperson announces. _"Due to the collapse of a twelve-year-old who went in her pajamas to save a grave therefore made them decide to move the graves and tombstones to a nearby location…"_

I drop the remote and blink. I failed to save Dad's resting place.

**A.N: ****Okay, several things…**

**1) SHOULD I PUT DEATH REBEL SOMEWHERE? YES OR NO? **

**2) I'm a bit hyper when it comes to idea cramming in my head**

**3) Someone help me with the idea cramming, because I swear I thought of nothing but doing a third one and we're on chapter _7_. That's NOT good people! IDEA CRAMMING HURTS!**

**4) I hope you enjoyed this chapter**

**5) I have to thank Dayfeather, xDemonChickx, and Nightstream of StormClan for their reviews. **

**6)Song is 'Because of You' by Kelly Klarkson (I _THINK_ that's how you spell it...) suggested by Nightstream of StormClan (well, she gave three suggestions for the 'Maki's Song' concept and I picked that out of the three for this chap) but she still suggested it! **

**One last thing…**

**7) PLEASE REVIEW! Who doesn't love reviews u know?**


	8. Attempted Normal Day

**Little thing: I've been wondering this out of curiosity's sake (A.K.A-curiosity killed the Ikuto [Ikuto: hey!]), but you know with those love triangles? Well, this is a love…rectangle of sorts, but what pairing do you think works best?**

**Maki X Ikuto**

**Maki X Mack**

**Maki X Kio**

**Like I said, I'm just curious, so you don't have to answer. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 8_

**Attempted Normal Day**

Kaki is whistling as we wash the outside windows of the house. I have to admit, all this stretching feels good with being in bed with pneumonia for a week (and that SORROW business). Mommy and Step-Dad are busy at work, so we're home alone at the moment, well…not unless you include our Guardian Characters. Hidu and Cassie are attempting to clean the gutters and Nana and Quartz try to clean the inside of the windows. My earphones are scratching the edges of my ears faintly as 'Mr. Brightside' by The Killers (American) rings. Oddly enough Kaki is whistling in perfect sync with the beat. I wash the rag with the hose connected to the right side of the house and wring it slightly and spraying the window cleaner, scrubbing gently so my arm doesn't go through the FCKING window.

"Do you girls need help?" I hear Mack call from the front gate.

"Sure, what the HLL?" Kaki greets, waving.

I roll my eyes and the song shifts to 'A Beautiful Lie' by 30 Seconds to Mars (are they going at the speed of light hyper drive addition or WHAT). Kaki whistles that as well and I stretch up, the early sun still having yet to fully rise. Mack grabs a cloth and begins working at the windows as well. It's peaceful at the moment.

Then the cow jumped over the moon and squashed a cat.

Kaki and I scream when we hear something that sounds like cats being tap-danced on by that very cow and whip around, Kaki tumbling off her ladder and slamming onto the grass. Mack runs over to examine for injuries and I glare at some idiots with glass, a mini blackboard, an amplifier, and rocks, one of which gone by the looks of it. I gulp and look to my left to see a window in fragments, Nana and Quartz trembling above their previous cleaning spot. I grit my teeth and turn to the punks. Kaki pushes herself up, despite a nasty scrape on the side of her knee, and we both charge, claws shooting out and snatching for them, but Mack yanks us back, so the DCKS are only fleeing, screaming like the sissies they are. Kaki laughs and throws up the bird in their direction.

"SERVES YOU FCKING PUNKS RIGHT!" she shouts.

Mack and I stare at her and I eventually grab her wrist to push the hand down to her side. "Quartz," I mouth, "Character Change." She nods and the teal quarter note appears on the chain, so I take a small paintbrush from Kaki and wave it around, Quartz's abilities waving through the bristles and the glass floating up into the frame to reconnect like a puzzle. I return the brush once all the pieces seal and the note disappears. We return to our work, my hopes of peace shouting out the loudest.

Then the cat had to run away with the dog.

Yeah right, more like _chase _it.

A Golden Retriever sprints by and nearly trips me, about ten cats following and knocking me down so my butt lands right in the pail we rung the dirty water out. Yoru flies up, panting and holding his knees and noticing me. "Hey-nya!" he waves cheerfully. "You need help-nya?"

I shake my head, meekly smiling. "Thanks for the offer Yoru."

He nods and chases after the cats once again. Mack holds my wrists as Kaki holds the pail and both pull, eventually in the result of my butt flying out and my body weight flying onto Mack, knocking both of us into the damp grass. I push off and look at the back of the navy shorts, seeing them soaked to the underwear underneath. I shriek and cover them up with my hands, searching around for some form of towel so I'm not peeked at or whatever! I sigh and sit on the grass, lifting up the tank top to the abdomen to see the 'X' Negative ice ring in good condition. Mack sits down to my right and Kaki at my left. "Hey," Mack raises a brow, "are you worried about SORROW?"

I nod. "I feel a little guilty just sitting here and letting it spread…why don't we at least look for the source?" I wonder.

Kaki shrugs. "Do we know that much? We would need an extremely sick victim to SORROW in order for us to get _one hint _on who it is."

"What about me?" I sigh. "You could tell the blood was different. How could you if there was no DNA?"

"Maki," Mack hugs his knees to his chest, "we're not scientists. We can't analyze the blood just like the snap of two fingers."

"Just try to have one normal day," Kaki suggests. "Then the SORROW could get much better."

I shrug and stand, Nana flying through the window with a fresh cotton pink towel that I wrap around my waist. We pick up the rags once more and return to our boring work, the Golden Retriever returning along with the ten cats that once again make me slip but into a thorn bush that Mommy swore to get rid of six months ago.

_Get Away_

"How about this?" Kaki holds up a deep crimson dress that goes to her knees with elbow sleeves and a V-neck that goes to the middle of her breasts. It's tight with a single black line at the waist.

I sigh. "Look, are you going to keep asking me to be your fashion consultant? Ask Hidu and Cassie. They are who _you _want to be."

She nods with enthusiasm and runs over to her Guardian Characters. I return my stare to the watches and lift up a black framed one with a crimson face, black numbers, black hands, and tiny fake rubies lining the frame. The rip off is that it's one-hundred American dollars. I set it back down and skim the area around me of the store Kaki decided we should go to as a reward for gutter cleaning and window washing. I huff and walk into racks of dresses and pluck off a hanger, seeing an emerald dress to the ankles with a tight waist with a bead diamond sewn into the front. The straps are as thin as spaghetti and the cloth is soft and cool, like cotton. I look at the price tag and curse. It's worth more than the watch. I set it back and cross my arms.

Can I not find something that I can reward myself with? I turn around to see Quartz staring at some jacket rack and Nana is observing sneakers and dancing shoes. I cross my arms and lean against a wall. This is practically hopeless. "Hey, you okay?"

I squeak and jump to turn to Kio. I cover my mouth and blush. Did I really just squeak like a mouse in front of him? "K-Kio!" I gasp. "W-What are you doing here?"

He chuckles. "Oh I'm just looking for a baseball buddy," he informs. "I lost him somewhere in the shopping district."

I shrug. "Haven't seen him."

He nods and starts to walk off before he turns to a dress and back at me. "You know, that dress goes well with your brown eyes."

I gulp and he walks off. Yep, I'm wearing the contacts again, but it's becoming a habit actually, so I'd prefer not to try and force myself to change the daily routine, you know? I might be prideful, but I'm lazy, see what I mean? I walk over to a mid-shin brown dress with short sleeves and a U neck that ends above the breast, both shoulders well covered and a tiny pearl flower pin attached to the area in front of the right shoulder. I check the price and gap. It's only twenty-seven American dollars! I smile and whistle Quartz and Nana over, holding up the dress to my body. "What do you guys think?"

They nod and I walk over to Kaki, who agrees and holds up a pair of black high boots with fake-rusted buckles of skulls with 'X's for eyes. I laugh nervously and laugh, so we purchase our items of choice and leave the shop, entering the mad streets of the shopping district.

"What next?" Kaki smiles.

I think about a few things and look at the rainbow watch at my wrist. "Well…it's getting close to lunch."

_Get Away_

"No way!" Kaki gasps.

"Way," I shrug. "That's how Americans choose to have their pass-times as."

I scoop up some ramen with my fork and stuff it into my mouth, Kaki mimicking my action. "Wait," she sets her left elbow on the table with the left hand with the fork pointed at me, her mouth still containing food and her right fingers clutching the side of her seat, "You said that this Eminem guy was a rapper, right?" I nod. She sets the fork on the plate and grabs my shoulders from across the table, shaking them. "TEACH ME ENGLISH!"

Remember, Cassie is her wish to be a rapper. I sigh and shake my head. "It's harder than it looks," I sigh. "Besides," I stuff some ramen into my mouth, "you should already know English!"

"Really?" she asks _in English._

"Dude, if you can understand this _English _sentence, then you speak English."

She nods and returns to her ramen. We look out the window and I see Kukai and…isn't that the blonde chick from Maki's Ballroom?

_**I turn to see a teen with hazel hair and purple like eyes. Isn't she that singer…Utau? "What?" I ask.**_

_**"Have you seen a guy with blue hair and eyes, seventeen?" she wonders.**_

_**I shake my head. "Well, I have, but not for two weeks."**_

_**She nods. "Where did you see him last?"**_

_**"The pet store in that square," I shrug. "Anything else?"**_

Yep. That's Utau, the famous singer. Kaki snorts and makes me turn to see her staring at the two. "I guess Utau is trying to be normal now."

"Huh?" I raise a brow.

She turns to me. "You don't know? She quit her company, so she had to start from scratch all over again."

I shrug. "I was in America or France, so it's a slim chance I caught that."

She shrugs. "You also missed Amu's fourth Guardian Character."

I choke on a couple of ramen noodles when Kukai and Utau walk in. Kaki is just _blinking _(THE IDIOT!) and I'm slamming my fist on my chest. Kukai runs over and helps me up, heaving the required area to make the ramen fly right out onto the table. Kaki scoots away from it, staring at the slobber-covered monstrosity. "Hey Maki!" Kukai greets. "I don't think you're supposed to choke on the ramen."

I roll my eyes and turn to Utau. "Who's your friend?" I wonder.

"This is Utau," Kukai smiles. "Utau, this is one of Amu's friends, Maki."

"Maki?" she raises a brow. "As in Maki Kia?" I nod. "Have you seen Ikuto?" she wonders. I nod. "Where?"

"Cemetery is the last place I saw him," I shrug.

She nods. "Huh. That's nice to know. I should stop by there later to check it out."

"I wouldn't bother," Kaki blows on her ramen. "They're going to tear Kai Cemetery to the ground."

"What?" Kukai gasps. "After all that protesting?"

"What protesting?" Utau wonders.

"People were defending the graves," I inform. "I was one of them. Ikuto stopped by and next thing I knew…"

"Wasn't he in you're room, last time you checked?" Kaki raises a brow.

I nod in recollection. "Oh yeah. I ran out on him and when I went back up he wasn't even there anymore."

"Someone's been hallucinating," Hidu mumbles.

Sometimes I just forget Kaki and I have Characters, so I jump a bit. "Jeez Hidu, at least announce yourself!"

"Hello!" a devil Guardian Character flies up to Hidu from behind Utau. "I'm Il!"

"Whatever," Hidu rolls her eyes.

Il freezes for a moment and that little anger pulsing appears under the forehead. "What did you say?"

"Hello!" Quartz flies over to her. "I'm Quartz!"

"QUARTZITE!" Nana teases with mockery drowning the tone.

"QUARTZ!" Quartz groans.

An angel Guardian Character flies up. "Please stop fighting!"

I turn to Utau. "So you have two Guardian Characters like me?" She nods. "Do you have 'X' Negative?" She shakes her head. "Huh."

"It is supposed to be rare," Kaki reminds me.

Nana leans against a napkin disposer and Utau faces me. "Hey…are the eggs alike?"

I raise a brow and open the house on my hip (remember, I carry it around a lot), taking out the eggs and handing them to Utau. She raises a brow and hands them back shortly after. "What?" I wonder.

"They don't look all that similar," she states. "Usually Guardian Characters from the same person share the same egg traits."

"They have the stripes," Nana points out. "It's just the symbols and colors."

"True," Kukai points out.

"Oh, well we should get that Ramen challenge started," Utau sighs. She waves good-bye to me. "See you later."

I nod and return to my seat, wiping the spit ramen and folding up the napkin to hide the mess.

_Get away_

I tap my fingers on the bench in the park in front of the fountain. Jeez how long does it take to get ice cream? I turn to Nana and Quartz, both on my left shoulder and yawning. "I'm bored," Quartz leans against my neck.

I roll my eyes and pat their tiny heads. "You're not the only one…"

The sun is high in the sky and the trees gently sway with the breeze, water sprinkling onto the back of my neck as my hazel hair is worn into a left side ponytail. I take out Rosario + Vampire Manga and start reading the first pages of the first volume. I eventually hear the slight moan of the bench as someone else sits down and next thing you know, someone sets a flower into my lap. I sigh and set the book down to stare at Lo. Nana raises a brow and I stand to go, but Lo grabs my elbow. "No stay," he sighs. "I want to talk to you."

I shake my head. "Lo, I don't want to talk to you." I jerk my elbow out of his grasp. "And if I did, it would probably be on three rounds of Pot mixed with ten rounds of sake."

I storm away and hug my ribs, Nana and Quartz floating silently next to my left shoulder (one of the reasons I forget they're there at times). I feel my chest pound and that searing pain shoot up and down my arm, so I stop for a second and something shoots out of the ice ring, so I shoot my eyes open to stare at an ice spike forming from the abdomen. It shrinks and I have to tear off that half of the shirt, leaving a shirt going down to my lower rib cage. I hear a low whistle and freeze, turning slowly to trees and a path. I straighten with a smile and turn only to walk into someone's chest, their hands holding the back of my head and torso. The person chuckles, an immediate identification card of Ikuto Tsukiyomi. He kneels down, still holding my body to his.

"Hello my little kitten," he purrs. "I haven't seen you in quite a bit."

I push off, leaving him to laugh and stand once again, his hands at his sides. "Back off!" I shout.

He leans in. "Now why would I want to do that?"

I groan and try to walk past, but he casually steps in my way. "PSS off."

"Aw…" he fakes a pout. "Why are you so angry, my little kitten?"

"Stop calling me that!" I shriek. "Jeez just back off!"

That's when he leans once more even closer to my face. "I have a feeling you didn't appreciate my absence."

I sigh and glare, making him stiffen. "I don't care about that, mister. In fact, I don't care about you."

I storm past and after a little bit walk into Kaki. "Hey-"

"Jeez, watch where you're going!" I shout. "You can't just be walking into people!"

She raises a brow and squints. She sighs and takes out pepper spray.

_Get away (from her pepper spray!)_

"OUCHIE MAMA!" I cover my eyes. "HOLY SHT WHAT'S IN THAT CRP?"

"Just as I thought," she sighs, pocketing that demon concoction. "Maki, this isn't good." I raise a brow, all the painful sting dimming with my curiosity. "You just had the first stage of Sorrow."

I blink and cover my mouth. _"I have a feeling you didn't appreciate my absence."_

_I sigh and glare, making him stiffen. "I don't care about that, mister. In fact, I don't care about you."_

FCK.

**A.N: Well, I hope you didn't think I was forgetting the whole story concept.**

**Now…**

**1) Remember above about my curiosity about what love couple for Maki you like? Well, if you want, you can tell me that you're Team so and so. I just mentioned that because I was curious.**

**2) I know I'm sounding like a BTCH repeating this, but DEATH REBEL OR NO?**

**3) I hope you enjoyed the chapter**

**See you next chapter!**


	9. How to Over Use 'May I Intervene'

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 9_

**How to Over Use 'May I Intervene?' **

I sit in my room scribbling down yet more reasons this shouldn't be Rated T on actual paper, having taken a shower a little earlier and the ink washing off. My hazel hair is wrapped up securely in a cotton pink towel and my torso in a cotton white towel, fuzzy slippers I got from America warm on my feet and the dry black nail-polish on both toes and hands, just out of boredom. Nana and Quartz are sipping hot chocolate out of doll house cups and my own hot chocolate is on the wooden saucer, steaming hot and tiny marshmallows floating on the surface. I grip the piping hot handle and take a sip, the chocolate burning the insides of my throat. I cringe with the heat and set it down, returning to the excuses.

_**"I have a feeling you didn't appreciate my absence."**_

_**I sigh and glare, making him stiffen. "I don't care about that, mister. In fact, I don't care about you."**_

I sigh and set the crimson pencil with the chewed off eraser down next to the paper, resting my elbows on the desk top and settling my chin on the bottoms of each palm, the fingers clawing into my cheekbones. The brown contacts are still fitted over the irises and feet are bouncing up and down, both of them spread with the knees buckled tight. I stare contently at the window with a guilty gaze and my cell rings, so I lift up my head and take the palms away to grip the phone, flipping it open and pressing it to my ear, the thumb pushing the 'call' button. "Hello?"

"Hey Ma! It's Kio!"

"Hey Kio, how's it going?"

"Eh, same old same old. Hey, do you want to go to Maki's Ballroom tomorrow?"

I stand and walk out of the room to trot downstairs and skid to a stop in front of the fridge to see the calendar Mommy puts up. "Well, my Mom already has plans to go there, so I guess we could just meet up."

"Nah, I wouldn't want to take time from you and your family together."

"Oh come on!" I whine. "It's like meet the parents of your friend silly!"

There's a little bit of suspenseful silence. "Okay, sure. What time you going?"

I do a tiny happy dance and squint to Mommy's messy writing. "5:45 P.M is what it says."

"Okay, I'll see you then Ma."

He hangs up and I end the call, jumping up and down and hollering, since I'm home alone due to some meeting Kaki had with Mack (those two should SO go out together). I rush upstairs and slam the door, sticking up the bird for Ikuto (yeah, who cares?) and sliding over to the desk, feeling more alive and more energetic than usual. I check the chain to find no pendant (probably because they're too submerged with the hot chocolate) and I smile wider. Nana and Quartz look up. "What did Kio call about?" Nana asks with her head cocked to the left.

"He wants me to meet him tomorrow at Maki's Ballroom!" I squeal. They just smile and shift a bit so their knees are to their chests and their arms are wrapped around the knees to clutch the tiny doll house cups. "Oh I totally need something to wear!" I snap my fingers and run into the closet, pulling out several of my dresses, good shoes, pantyhose, underwear, bras, and I even bother with some old jewelry box I store any jewelry I have in. I know this is a sudden mood change, but a boy just asked me out! I mean come on that doesn't occur every day (with a boy I like that is). I turn to the bed and start arranging the clothes in some order until I come up with three outfits, Nana and Quartz just as stumped as I am. I mean I can't wear all three, that'd just look weird. Someone knocks and I turn to the door to open it. In steps Kaki, panting and sweating.

"Hey…" she huffs. "I'm home…what's that?" she points groggily to the bed.

"A bed," I giggle.

She snaps up and shakes my shoulders. "OH KNOW!" she places the back of her wrist on her forehead dramatically. "I HAVE TO GET THE DOCTOR! YOU'RE ON STAGE TWO! Acting like…like an IDIOT!" she throws her hands down. "I mean come on I get that it's a _bed _you dummy! I'm talking about what's with the dresses _on _the bed?"

I smirk with my victory in annoying the SHT out of her. "That, my fine sister, is the Bed of Dating Wear options."

She looks me up and down. "Who'd go out with you?"

"Hey!" I snap.

She holds up her hands. "Just saying that they'd go after _me_ more than some sister, but hey, think what you want."

I roll my eyes. Jeez what a fantastic sister. "Did you want something?"

"To tell you that I'm home," she shrugs. "Hey, can I help you pick out a dating outfit?" I shake my head. "Why not?" she places her hands on her hips.

Hidu and Cassie fly to her right shoulder, panting like they just ran a marathon for ten hours. "Make…the…flying…stop!" Cassie pants, falling flat on her face in mid-air.

Kaki rolls her eyes and picks both up into her palms. "So why not?" she returns to me.

"Well, you have a violent perspective of clothing," I point to the boots and the white T-Shirt with a gun barrel facing the 'camera' I guess you can say it like that, and with 'ONE STEP CLOSER…COME ON…' below it.

She tugs at it with a free right hand. "Okay, so yeah, I like humorous clothing," she shrugs. "At least I have a sense of humor!"

I roll my eyes and walk over to the desk, sipping the hot chocolate and pointing to Nana and Quartz's cups, so they fly back and continue drinking and chatting silently. "Hey…why don't you ask a boy what outfit he thinks is better?" she suggests. "All boys have a same mind after all."

I smile and head for the phone, but stop short to scold my own selfishness.

I was about to call Ikuto.

_Get Away_

Out of guilt, I picked the dress that would've suited him the most instead of Kio. So yeah, it's this navy sleeveless dress that goes to my mid-thigh and high black pantyhose with black peep-toe heels one inch high, no back to the dress and the silver chain over my chest still. My hazel hair is flowing, so no holding back, and I put the contacts in, since Kio prefers the brown eyes to blue apparently. I walk down the steps and Mommy smiles. "Aw…my little baby's growing up!"

She squeezes the living daylights out of me. "KIP!" I manage. "HELP!"

Kip shakes her black-haired head in amusement, her eyes shut behind the thin glasses. I huff and Step-Dad enters in a full-blown silver suit. He just restarts the suffocation process and I eventually break free with a tiny Character Change. "Wow," he smiles. "Who are you trying to impress?"

"A boyfriend," Mommy pipes up.

Going back to Mom now. "NO I'M NOT!" I defend, blushing madly (maybe I'll execute a face execution at the same time of the left hand…). "I just…I-I-I just got asked out, that's all. It's not official!"

Never. Hire. Me. As. A. Lawyer. I'm telling you _that _straight out. Mom (she's under 'punishment' right now) chuckles and grabs a tiny purse, opening the door and I lead us out, Kaki rushing out second to last with some form of black shirt and skirt combo (better than jeans [CERTAINLY better than NOTHING]) with black flats and a white bow clipped to her left pigtail. It makes me wonder if she ever removes the pigtails and just leaves it flowing back. She has faintly glossed lips and a box of Pocky sticking out of her shirt pocket. I cross my arms and she just offers me the box. I snatch out a single Pocky stick and she whips out some unopened lip gloss container at random.

"Hold still," she commands.

I stop and she applies the gloss (spelled 'glass' at first [ouch]) and sticks the Pocky in between the lips. "What the heck are you doing?" I raise a hazel brow.

She shrugs. "Just keep the Pocky in until you see your boyfriend."

I grow red. "HE'S _NOT_ MY BOYFRIEND!"

"Dude, be happy I'm assuming correctly that it's a _boy _and that your _not _a Lesbian."

"Do you have a problem with Lesbians?"

She shakes her head. "It just offends people if they're not."

I nod and wobble down since the one-inch heels are perfectly monsters for me.

_Get away_

Kaki shoves me through the doors and I wobble in with multiple rushes of _clop _put together. I wipe some sweat away with the back of my hand and note the two guys standing with my arrival. I sigh and turn to Kaki. "Did you invite Mack?"

"No," she lies.

I must admit, it's close to convincing. Hidu and Cassie's eggs rummage in her tiny bag and Hidu pops her head out, rubbing a big eye with a tiny fist. "Eh, can you pipe down?"

"Sorry," we mumble in unison.

I feel at the house on my waist and look around nervously. There's no random flood of cats in my life at the moment, and the eggs are safely placed inside. Although I think past events turned me paranoid because I duct taped the house shut and put three extra hooks on, plus glue onto the belt (that's going to be fun to remove). Kio sort of dashes up, hugging my shoulders tightly. "Hello, Ma!"

Mack raises a brow as he walks over. "I think your dating a 'mother' confused child, Maki."

Kaki stifles a laugh in agreement. I blush and roll my eyes. Mom comes up and smiles. "Would you two like a separate table?"

Before Kio can even _think _about nodding, I wave my hands wildly in _dis_agreement. "NO! NO!" I nervously laugh, scratching the back of my head now. "We're fine…eating with…you…guys…"

Mother (grounding of the 'Mom' and 'Mommy' privilege) giggles and Kip flies around her head, softly playing the tiny white violin and Mother happily requesting the table to the person at the counter. The male nods and leads us to a table of six (two boys, twins, parents). Kaki shoves me in the 'head seat' (chair at the very end) and she sits to my left, smirking in a way I'd rather her NOT to. It reminds me too much of Ikuto's devilish smirks and grins and perverted ways of the Pedophile kitten (and he called ME a pervert…). Kio and Mack push each other in order to sit next to me, but Kio wins, so Mack sits on Kaki's left. Step-Dad sits next to Kio (gulp) and Mother sits at the other end. I glance over to the dance room.

"Why don't you go and dance, Maki?" Kaki nudges my ribs. "I'm sure we can figure out what you want."

I smile and nod, standing up and Kio following. We enter in and Mack soon rushes in as well. "Hey," he smiles at me. "Let me have a dance why don't you before I pass out?"

I laugh and Kio glares at Mack. "Alright," I smile. "After-"

Someone pulls me into the circle and Mack and Kio gap at someone behind me, Kio spreading his arms out. "What the heck?"

I hear a hauntingly familiar chuckle as we spin away from that particular place. I look up to none other than that Pedophile. "IKUTO!" I hiss, trying to keep the volume to a minimal. "What the Heck? I'm on a date here!"

"With me you are," he teases, placing a hand on the back of my head and pinning it to his lower chest, since he probably grew while I was away. I've had a period already, so I'm…wait a minute…you know I'm starting to think you guys are aliens picking at my brain for the TMI section. Yep. That's it. I sigh and just go with the flow, not wanting to gorge anyone's eyes out with a heel today (maybe tomorrow after ten cups of coffee). "You look nice."

I look up to see Ikuto smiling at me. His hand is now sliding down to my upper back and the left still clutching my right hand. My left is gripping the shoulder, and suddenly someone swoops me away from him. "May I intervene?" I hear Kio laugh.

I giggle and we dance, but his hand is on my waist, the appropriate spot last time I checked. Blurry figures pass as we twist and twirl. I laugh a bit out of over-joy and when he stretches out his arm to make mine stretch out, someone grabs my other wrist and out of the surprise I release Kio's hand. "May I intervene?" Mack raises a brow at Kio and we dance off.

Jeez that's the second time now. As we dance, the classical music rings and makes my blood freeze at the edges of the veins inside. I get like this every time I NEED to listen to an American rock song. "May I intervene?" someone swoops me from Mack.

I glare up at Ikuto's smirking face. "What the heck is with that phrase in the last five minutes?"

He chuckles. "People just like you is all."

"Yeah, and I like ONE person," I grunt.

He drags me out of the circle and leans down like [] to my face. "Who would that be?" he smirks (when DOESN'T he).

"May I intervene!" Kio hisses, dragging me back into the circle.

It pretty much goes in this pattern for fifteen minutes until Kaki storms in and drags all four of us out of the circle. "GUYS! YOU CAN'T BE SWITCHING WITH HER EVERY TWO SECONDS LIKE THAT! I MEAN LOOK AT HER!" It's very true that everything's red and spinning. "Now…Kio, Mack, dinner's here. Maki, I think you should get a bucket."

I vomit in my mouth and forcefully swallow it, shaking my head. "I'm good!" I lie, squeaking.

She pats my head. "Good. Then walk to the table yourself while twirling around like an idiot!"

I scowl. "No. I'd snap my neck by falling in a trip with these," I point to the heels, "monsters on."

"Then why did you where them?" she raises a brow.

I sigh and shrug. "Just thought it went well with the dress."

"Which it does," Ikuto smirks.

I growl when I feel his hand on my lower back (not THAT low fortunately). "Get your mitts off of me."

He takes his hand back and walks out of the room, disappearing behind walls. Kaki and I return to the table, although I'm too distracted. Why wasn't Ikuto angry? I said all those things and he's not holding even the tiniest of grudges? I sigh and shovel some ramen into my mouth, staring into the steaming bowl. Sometimes I just don't get anything life t-…I feel at my back to find a tiny note. I pick it off.

_**Music Festival?**_

_**Yes/No**_

_**Don't worry, I'll get this back.**_

_**For you, my little kitten,**_

_**Ikuto.**_

I huff and take out a pen, circling the thing I'm probably going to regret later (either that or it'll SHUT HIM UP): yes.

**A.N: 1) Humor chapter, but I still hope you enjoyed it**

**2) Review**

**3) I have to thank the reviewers for FINALLY answering the Death Rebel question.**

**4) Expect A LOT of Pedophileness in the next chapter (from Ikuto of course)**


	10. Sick, Sick and Wrong

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 10_

**Sick, Sick and Wrong**

It's been a week, no show of Ikuto, and now I'm in a white bath towel, drying my hair in front of the mirror. I sigh and poke the contacts into my eyes, blinking my eyes from deep blue to dark brown. The hazel hair looks like I just slept with a hard guy (I guess I could've said Ikuto, but then you'd say 'how'd you know what'd your hair would look like if you slept with him' and YADA, YADA, YACK) and deep grey bags are under my eyelids. I swear you could mistake me for a FCKING vampire. I yawn and stretch, the towel falling to the floor and the cold nipping at my skin. I squeak and yank it back over my torso, paranoid because of that note sitting on my desk. I 'exeunt' and enter my room, reaching for the milk bottle on my desk and bringing my hand up, only to find it clutched around nothing. I raise a brow and look around, seeing the house duct-taped (I SWEAR I REMOVED IT). I gulp and look at the desk to see a larger piece of paper where the note USED to be. It's a note card to be precise. I lift it up to my face.

_**I enjoyed the milk bottle, in case you're wondering. The Characters were threatening to tell you about my visit BEFORE you read this :). I'll see you at the festival, my little kitten.**_

_**Ikuto.**_

_**P.S: I think the milk would've been better if it was from you.**_

My jaw drops down to the center of the Earth and the towel falls off, so I whip it back up, snag the house, and run back into the bathroom, locking the door, jamming the handle, jumping into the shower with every hard object in here (even the mirror), and curling into a little rocking ball.

_Get away (from the Pedophile)_

Next day, I'm wearing winter clothing and may I say five layers in the middle of _summer_? I feel like I've lost ten pounds just from sweating! I wobble out into the front yard and over to the mail box, shoving the arm into the slot and dragging out a sepia colored envelope and a flyer for the festival. I nod and wobble back in, getting infuriated with the stupid layers and ripping off three of them (yes, three of the four jeans, all three thick jackets, three of the five hats, and tearing off the shoes to tear off all the socks except the one candy-cone decorated pair[not with actual candy-corn{EW}]). Now I'm left with a deep red turtleneck with dark jeans and the candy-corn socks. A burst of refreshing cool air licks my skin (no, not Ikuto actually behind…). I freeze and look behind me to nothing but air. JEEZ YOU PEOPLE ARE MAKING ME PARANOID! I stretch out my spine and walk up to my room, pushing against the door with my right hand twisting the handle and I freeze to see a milk bottle NOT mine and a letter taped to it. I look around and check the lock on the window. I sigh and shrug. He always seems to get in locked or not. I pluck the envelope from the bottle and open it up.

**Little Kitten**(okay I have a name!)

_**This is payment for the milk the other day **_(I was hoping for the yen it took to get that…). _**Fix the lock on your window, it's not safe **_(says the pervert saying my milk would probably be better than the store bought [I MEAN WHO SAYS THAT?]). _**See you soon, my little kitten.**_

**Ikuto**

I sigh and look into the milk bottle. Yep, it LOOKS normal. Just to be on the safe side, I open the window and chuck it out. "OW MY LEG!"

I blink a few times and gradually shut the window, my hands remaining on the frame and my eyes blank, blinking, and all emotion other than '…okay…' wiped away.

_Get away (from the milk bottle)_

Next day (NOT A JOURNAL!), I'm in the kitchen wiping up cookies for Mom, since her birthday is August 29. It's the 28th. The laptop is open with Swords and Skulls on the screen, my fingers often typing while the I'm waiting for something that I don't have to pay attention to every second.

_Huda Jig-Hey, when's ur birthday?_

_Mai Tam-Jan. 16. U?_

_Huda Jig-Sep. 24._

_Mai Tam-LCKY!_

Suddenly it disconnects and I blink. I re-click the login.

USER NAME: Ikutohater11

PASSWORD: IkUto1SuCKs7

I click the login and Mai Tam reappears. I blink. _Huda Jig-U there?_

_Mai Tam-Yeah…it's just that the comp. disconnected me._

_Kai Tam-Logged in_

_Mai Tam-HEY! HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH MOM?_

_Kai Tam-Last day _(yes, she's been working with Mom these two days, so that's where she was).

_Mai Tam-Tomorrow's her birthday, remember_

_Kai Tam-Got-_

_Leo Brig-Logged on_

_Kai Tam-WHO R U?_

_Leo Brig-Hey Amu. Who are your friends?_

_Huda Jig-Mai is Maki and Kai is Kaki, Mack_

_Mai Tam-Logged off_

I blink at the screen and smack it on the side. "COME ON!" I groan.

The oven bell rings and I walk over to it to swipe out the cookies and make sure they're perfect. I walk back to the screen to a sticky note. I gulp and pluck it off to read.

**PASSWORD + USERNAME CHANGE!**

**UN-LittleKat4Ikuto**

**PW-MaKI1cOOl3**

I gap and type that in.

_Mai Tam-Logged On_

_Get away (IKUTO FROM MY COMPUTER!)_

I yawn and stretch the next morning (it's going to be like this all chapter, so DEAL WITH IT). Kaki enters my room with some package and drops it on the desk, storming out shortly after. I raise a brow and shove the sheets off, jumping off the bed and striding to the box, using the letter opener to cut across the tape. Nana and Quartz fly over from their house with smiles. "What is it? Who's it from?"

I open the flaps and raise a brow at something in there. It has some clip-like thing with a tube running into a milk bottle. I read the card.

_**:3**_

_**Ikuto**_

What the heck? Is that supposed to mean 'balls' or 'cat'? I pray it means cat. I shovel around through the box to find an instruction pamphlet. I chuck it into the box and huff, Nana and Quartz rapidly taking shelter in their house as I scream to Kingdom Kong. "IKUTO!"

_Get away (IKUTO FROM THAT BOOB SUBJECT **YOU **BROUGHT UP!)_

I guess you know it's the next day, and Mom and Step are out again. Kaki is catching a movie with Mack (step one of them getting together I KNOW it!), so yeah, I'm home alone. All windows and doors are sealed shut and I'm in the bathroom, rocking in the shower with Nana and Quartz in their house, so yeah, right now I'm alone. I can't believe Ikuto actually wanted me to do…the unspeakable. I mean you do that for babies not Pedophile seventeen-year-olds! I hear the door creak and freeze. I look out to see nothing. My eyes get heavy and I lie down in the shower, falling to fast sleep.

_Everything's dark, but it fades into an altar. Ikuto and I are standing next to each other, a wedding dress only to my quarter thigh and sleeveless, a REALLY low V-neck and no back nearly blending with my pale skin. Then Kio appears and the dress changes to me being fully covered, well…there's no sleeves again, but it's a straight neckline, so HAH. Although, when I was looking at Ikuto…he wasn't smirking. He was smiling like he wanted me to be with him forever._

I yawn and wake up to find a dark shape above me. I widen my eyes and rub the fatigue mucus away to see Ikuto's midnight hair and piercing blue eyes. His black uniform is on again and I look down to see he has his knees on the sides of my thighs. I gulp. _I REALLY need to change the rating on this…_He sets a hand on my right cheek. "Are you okay?" he wonders.

I glare. How can he just act so stupid? "NO! You stupid pervert! Why would you send me…that?"

He chuckles. "That was a joke, Maki."

"Well you could've PUT that somewhere!" I scold. "Like I said," I try to push him away. "THAT WAS GROSS!"

He leans in, my arms weak with tiredness. "Oh, so love is gross?" I blush. "I'd like to see you tell every couple who does that exactly those three words." I gaze into his warm eyes which seems to melt my skin of unknown SORROW effects and I shake my head roughly.

_**"Okay, the second is when you act like a complete moron. For example, you'd let Ikuto be the pervert he is and you'd just blush and moan."**_

I try to push him off again. "GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE RIGHT NOW!" He refuses to budge. "CAN'T YOU HEAR ME? I SAID I-"

I feel his hand slither into my pocket and he rests his head on my right shoulder, his breath tickling the skin of my neck. I shiver and he rubs my left arm up and down with his free right hand. "Cold?" I shake my head. "Alright, if you say so."

This is sick, sick and wrong. He shouldn't be on top of me! I can't react and suddenly I feel something nibbling on my earlobe. I let out a silent moan and curse inside, unable to outside.

I'm falling to the second phase.

Ikuto pushes down on my body, so the back is hard against the tile. I'm still, silent moans and groans, and even little short pants escaping. I scold myself inside and my eyes doing but watch the ceiling as Ikuto licks the inside of my ear, the cool saliva ticklish. He works his way to behind the ear, where he has his right hand holding the back of my head up and turning it a bit so his tongue can lick the length of the ear's back gradually. Last time I checked…

…this is NOT how cats work.

The left hand in the right pocket is clutching the thigh part that's there and my knees bring themselves up, so Ikuto has to move a bit further up my body, therefore having to hunch to be able to nip the top of my ear. The right set of fingers tangle themselves in the hazel and he pries his lips off my ear to pant. LIKE HE HAS THE HARD WORK! WHO HAS TO ENDURE THIS! "Your eyes…they're brown again…"

I blink and I can't turn my head because he's pinning it there. "Y-Yeah?" I softly stutter. "S-so?"

"Why?"

I shrug. "It's becoming a habit to put them on."

He pushes my head to the right a bit and nuzzles the back of his head into the side of my neck. "Maki…when will you get it?"

"What?" I raise a weak brow.

He lifts up his head so his eyes are once more piercing into my own. "Kio doesn't love you for who you really are. It's just the fake eyes."

I roll my eyes, warmth spreading over my body. "W-who cares?"

"Maki…you need someone who cares for you the way you are, not the fake you…"

"And who would that be?" I snap.

He sighs and removes the hand from my pocket, cupping my right cheek with it and the right is pushing against the tile next to my head. "Me," he whispers.

_**Liar…liar…liar…**_"Liar…"

He looks a little hurt. "What?"

I regain my control and shove him off, his butt crashing into the tile as I push myself up. "STOP JOKING AROUND! I'M SERIOUS ABOUT THIS YOU PERVERTED JERK WAD!"

He blinks, the hurt and sorrow clear in his eyes alone. I can see he's trying to fake a smile. "Think what you want-t," he voice cracks slightly. "I-It's not like I'll ever c-change your stubborn little mind."

He stands up and walks out of the bathroom, the door slamming with his attempt to make it gentle. I hug my knees and bury my face in it. I feel something carve into my forehead. The old 'X' is back. I shut my eyes and throw my head back, screaming. The ring around my body flies off, the front tugging forward, so the back rips through the cube and body so it's floating, my lifeless carcass scattered on the tile and purple mist the only means of life I have left.

**A.N: DUH, DUH, DUN! **

**Review please!**

**Check out the poll on my profile!**

**Will Maki and Ikuto forgive each other (more like Ikuto forgive Maki for stomping all over his heart but still…)?**

**Will people ever stop caring about Star Wars? **

**See you next chapter!**


	11. My Name Is Sorrow

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 11_

**My Name Is Sorrow**

I'm in a little world of nothingness. Everything is black and my body is not present, just my mind. I don't know how long it's been since I…died, I think. Silent cries of 'impossible' ring around and my body starts to fade into the scene, my fingers shaking. I blink and lift my hands up to my burning face. I can't feel the cold of death, nor can I hear my own heart beat. Am I dead? Am I alive? Maybe this is just a dream…I'll wake up to Ikuto's perverted smirk and he'll stick his hand in the closet pocket of mine. I'll call him a Pedophile and he'll chuckle, removing the hand and reminding me how 'I molested him', which I DIDN'T. I feel something cold trail up my skull and I turn to nothing but air. I blink and taste blood in my mouth. I spit in my hand to a dark blood clot. A silver knife appears before me and I kick the air to go back, my legs not walking, more like my body floating in black water without the whole 'GIVE-ME-AIR' situation. I refuse to cut myself up anymore. I'm alive for a reason, and I WILL stick to it.

Something stops nearly all my movement and I look around in panic. The black walls adorn themselves with moving pictures that resemble memories clearly my own, since they are seen through the eyes of a youth.

_**A car, a cat, a…sheep…the scenes go by as my step-father drives the car latterly across the F*CKING country of Japan. It sucks to be honest, having to move in the middle of the year, but Mommy said it'd help with 'clearing my head'. Nobody understands what really happened. Nobody. **_

_**Please…all I want are friends. I'll even take a black cat!**_

_**You see, I'm extremely superstitious, so if someone even likes black cats, I think that's instant bad luck for life after life.**_

_**I take a pair of old scissors and cut myself on the arm just to check if this is real.**_

_**It is.**_

_**I yawn and turn back to the bed and yelp. I blink and rub my eyes, staring with confusion. Why are there two eggs on the bed?**_

_**I jump off and stomp to the desk with the meat-tenderizer, stomping my way for the back down only to drop it on my foot. It's that little black cat from out the window and some guy probably nineteen or so is resting on the rackety, barf green couch next to him. I blink and bend down, never removing my gaze, and clutching the handle of the tenderizer. The black cat blinks at the ceiling and slowly notices me, screaming…or squeaking…like He** when he sees what I have. "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" he panics. "AH!"**_

_**He dodges them all of course. I scream in annoyance and the blood flow of the platform multiples. I try making a break for the front door, but he already has both elbows seized by the time I dash a yard. I wriggle and scream, in which he covers my mouth and pulls me close to his body in a position I can't kick his privates or anywhere else with critical damage. I cure him for having looped my elbows together with his own elbow crook and keep up the assault. Jeez, I wish I could be able to escape this…I freeze when I remember the eggs. Is he after them? Wait…WHY WOULD PEOPLE BE AFTER EGGS? He forces me into my own room and shuts the door with the bottom of his shoe, pushing me forward to lock it. I try for the window, but he already has my ankle, in which my chin crashes to the ground. I'm able to see some calendar under the desk with today's date circled numerously: Friday the thirteenth. I scream and scramble up, forgetting all about the ankle, and managing to grip the window base, the guy really putting up a hustle to get me away from the window.**_

_**"You're-not…going to…GET-away…this time!" he grunts out forcefully, as if he's struggling with this SH*T. **_

_**"PUT ME DOWN YOU CREEP!" I punch Ikuto's back with nearly everything I have.**_

_**I hear creaking and the boxes shatter under me, seeing they're just aged, hollow wood. I shriek and someone catches me, so I stop and look up to Ikuto, now beating at his chest. "LET-ME-GO!" He chuckles once again and I smash his nose under my fist, just P*SSED. "YOU'RE F*CKING WITH THE WRONG PERSON, B*TCH!" I knee his chin and kick his chest back, landing and noticing I still have the necklace on. It vanishes instantly. I gulp and nervously laugh, looking up to the very annoyed Ikuto. "Uh…" I offer some bandages, "…need this?"**_

_**He slaps me across the face. "Stupid!" he yells.**_

_**You have a Doctor's Appointment at 3 tomorrow, Sweetie-Mommy. I'm wide-eyed. I scream and chuck it at the wall. I'm not mentally ill for crying out loud! The door opens and I hear Ikuto groan.**_

_**"Are you going to be screaming in and out all day?" he wonders.**_

_**I screamed and froze when I noticed Daddy, lifeless on the wheel. "Daddy?" I cried. "DADDY!"**_

_**I was having a nightmare. This was probably caused by the fact that I haven't had dinner yet. I was also sleeping, hoping this was all a dream. I took the letter opener off the stand and lightly cut myself. **_

_**It was.**_

_**I threw it back on the stand and slammed back into the sheets, returning to my restless nap. I was being chased by everything unlucky, all of them screaming I was the reason Mommy and Daddy fought, that I was why Daddy died, that I was why Mommy was getting remarried. Nobody could replace and can replace Daddy, NOBODY! I felt something prick the side of my neck and I heard the door start to creak, so I opened my eyes wide and the door was flung open. "MAKI!"**_

_**I felt the cool handle of the letter opener in my right hand, the cool blade pressed up against the side of my neck.**_

_**Someone pushed me down. "FREAK!" **_

I stare at everything with wide eyes. I ball up my fists in my hair and shake it hard, shutting my eyes and boiling masses of tears dripping off my face to dissolve to nothing. "What…what is all of this?"

A girl with long black hair and a white dress sprinkled with blood appears. She has claws like the X-Negative, but her mouth is different. Every tooth is a carnivore's fang. "Perfect…" she states.

"What?" I raise a brow.

She smiles and walks forward, despite there is no ground to walk on. She presents a hand. "Hello. My name is Sorrow."

I blink and stare at the clawed hand. This…this is SORROW. This is the disease? I thought it would be more…abstract. I lift up my hand to touch her face, but I find it to be mere mist. She smiles and her hand launches for my wrist, but I jerk back further into black, the memories behind me fading as if to let me escape. She cackles and holds up four eggs. Two have roses on them, but the colors are reversed on one, the other normal red roses with a white background. The others have gold coins and swords, but the color of the coins is either gold or silver and the scenery on the silver pieces is black, not orange like the other. I scowl. "Why did you kill them?"

She laughs and licks some blood off the back of a claw. "I'll be waiting for you, Maki Kia just you wait. Let me go for one minute and you're mine for the taking."

She dissolves and I gap. What does she mean…? I look around and electric bolts trap my in a cage. It quickly disappears and it comes again, so I decide to remain still and calm. That's when the cage shifts and ends up frying some of the platform skin. I scream and light floods the dark, but the electricity is still going away. I kick forward rapidly to dodge all the attacks in hopes I'd NOT die. The cage speeds up mockingly as I pant and wheeze to get away. The light surrounding me grows lighter and my skin catches into flames. The cage bolts around me and squeezes me tightly, the electricity frying my skin.

"AH!" I scream, bolting up and man-handling the first throat I could get my hands on.

A heart monitor is beeping like crazy and everything is wobbling. Someone pulls me off the guy, resting a hand over my forehead and the finger slightly leaning into the 'X'. "Shh…" I hear a soft voice whisper. "It's okay…it's okay…"

I blink and jerk around to Ikuto. "Ikuto?" I ask. I yank his cheeks apart to make sure they're real.

He chuckles and rests his hands on my own, pushing them down to my sides and gently leading me to some table in the center of some truck. "Relax. It's just an ambulance."

"I'm supposed to relax?" I raise a brow.

He smirks and ruffles my hair, so I blush and look down. "Something wrong?" he wonders.

"Yeah, I just tried to choke some random paramedic," I shrug.

"Eh, happens to everyone."

"Since when?"

He shrugs this time and the paramedics recover, both injecting me with some weird thing and my eye lids grow heavy. Ikuto settles my head in his right elbow crook and I nudge his upper arm with my head, smiling as I fall to sleep.

_Get away_

"SISTER!" Kaki screams as she tackles me.

I blink and pat her on the top of her head. "Jeez. I've only been in the hospital for two hours and…" I stare at a wheelbarrow or two filled with assorted roses. "What the FCK?" I blink.

Ikuto laughs behind me. "I see you'll always be admired Maki, no matter if you want to be or not."

I roll my eyes. "Hey, you're one of those admirers!"

He leans in, making me take a small step back. He's smirking seductively again. "Well, do you see me sending you that many roses?"

"No, but all of those roses are probably for each hour you have stalked me," I snap.

He places a hand over his heart, tilting his head to the left with a slightly pouting lip. "That hurt."

HA! I hold in the laugh though. "Okay, I'll believe _THAT _when Abraham Lincoln comes back from the dead with a tutu."

He raises a brow, his body mostly frozen except the confused twist to his face. Yep, he's DEFINITELY not faking it. "Who?"

"Abraham Lincoln," I repeat. He shakes his head and Kaki stares at me like I grew a third eye. "AMERICAN PRESIDENT!"

They nod. "We're not American, in case you haven't noted that," Kaki grumbles. "Anyways, Mack and I did some research during the two days you were passed out…hey, why are you looking at me like I'm dead meat?"

I grab her shoulders and shake her hard. "TWO DMN DAYS? ARE YOU FCKING KIDDING ME?"

She shakes her head and Ikuto taps my shoulder, so I turn to see he has a picture of me sleeping on the table. I blink and glare up at his laughing deep eyes. "Stalking perverted kitten who's obsessed with milk of different varieties."

He clicks his tongue and straightens. Kaki taps my shoulder and I turn to her. "Yep?"

She offers me the house and I accept it, Nana and Quartz bursting out and clinging to my nose. "MAKI-CHA!"

I blink placidly. I huff and they squeak happily. "She's mad!" Nana screams. "She's mad!" Quartz repeats.

"CUT IT OUT!" I scold.

They laugh and I turn to Kaki. "Hey," Kaki waves, "so…you want to go shopping?"

I raise a brow. "Since when have you been interested in shopping?"

She shrugs. "I'd just like to spend some time with my sister-dear."

I shiver and she blinks. "You almost sound like Sorrow."

She snaps her fingers. "Oh yeah! Mack and I did some research on Sorrow and apparently the disease can force the 'X' egg energy to a purple mist that creates an image of a small girl. She's insane, right?" I nod. "Okay, so your mission is to relax and not stress out, cause stress leads to complications and confusion with complications brings sorrow and yada, yada, yak (proof we're twins)."

I giggle and turn to Ikuto. "Want to come with us?"

He shrugs with the smirk still on. "As long as I'm with you, I'm alright with it."

I follow Kaki and Ikuto follows me. I look down and lift the shirt up slightly to find the ice ring there. I raise a brow. Didn't it tear through my body like a butcher knife through milk?

**A.N: Poll**

**Review **

**A future chapter is going to involve Maki playing a song she thinks is perfect for Kaki. I have a few ideas, but feel free to suggest! **

**I still can't believe I have ideas for a THIRD. It's weird, but the suckish part is that it's a crossover, so I don't think you guys would like the idea, just saying.**

**Review**

**^^See you next chapter^^**


	12. Cheer Up! Part 1 of 2

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 12_

**Cheer Up! Part 1 of 2**

"Oh! How about this?" Kaki held up a frilly pink dress.

Yeah, we're looking for dresses for me, not a five-year-old ballerina with tits. "No," I grumble. I just can't stop worrying about what Sorrow is going to do!

She huffs and tosses it on top of the rack, just like she did with every OTHER dress we've looked at. Quartz, Nana, Hidu, and Cassie are all playing cards in the house, slightly grown into the bag version, so it's on my back with both brown leather straps around my shoulders. "You know," Kaki leans into yet another dress rack, "Mack is pretty cute for a boy."

I stare at the back of her head and pull out that handy taser. I stab it into her back and press the button, her body jerking around like a rag doll. I release the button. "Who are you and where's Kaki?"

She rolls her eyes and turns, hands on hips…or gun holsters knowing her for the full week I have (or more). "Look," she sighs, "I might have that rough, Goth, punk as character outside and in, but I still like boys!"

I nod, not believing her the slightest. "Sure. Yep. Uh-huh. Hey, if you love rap so much, why don't you sing it?"

She blinks at me. "Dude, rapping is a dream not yet a reality," she holds up her right index finger to the sky. "I'll sing it when I can, but right now I'd rather talk to my Characters and my family while I can."

I nod and pick out some knee-length crimson dress with elbow sleeves and the smallest U-neck I'll probably ever see. "So what'd you do while I was gone?"

She shrugs slightly. "Cassie was born," she jabs a thumb at the Character house being toted on my back. "Kip…oh yeah! Mom decided to buy a violin, but it hasn't come yet."

"Really?" I smile. She nods. "Oh that's so cool! You know, her heart must've been strong as a kid."

"I know, but I can actually understand why'd she feel upset if the violins were lost," she turns her head to me, gripping a hanger. "Don't you think it was over the line to 'X' her egg?"

I nod. "Totally, but it's not like we _put _the 'X's on," I shrug. "Although, if anything, I want to learn more about this stupid Sorrow business. I mean the chick had claws _and _carnivore jaws!"

"Wow," Kaki blinks with slight astonishment. "Just wait until she _Character Transforms _with someone." We both shudder. "Man…_that'd _be disaster…"

"I think diseases for Characters are REALLY worse than an 'X' Character," I opinionate. "Seriously, in France, they have some with 'X' energy bombs!"

"Are you serious?" I nod to Kaki. "Aw CRP! Why do the French get the bombing Characters while most people in Japan get Character Transformations that make you look gay or like a complete stripper!" All the Characters fly out with crossed arms and she holds her hands up in defense. "I said MOST."

"Speaking of which…does Ikuto have one?" I wonder.

"If he does, I have NEVER seen it," Kaki shudders, returning to the racks. "What the heck? Who leaves a sandwich at the bottom of a rack?"

I push some dresses aside and blink. Yep, there's a green sandwich there. "That's gross."

She picks it up. "Might as well not let it go to waste."

I nearly vomit my lungs out.

_Get away (FROM THAT SANDWICH KAKI!)_

"Aw man!" I groan, tapping my right foot on the ground. "Where the Heck is Ikuto?"

Kaki shrugs, texting someone. "For all I know, he could be looking at girls panties while they don't know it."

I nod in slight agreement and cross my arms, looking around nervously. I mean jeez there are only so many disappearances from that cat I can take! Kaki flips the phone shut and pockets it. "Hey, why don't we look in another store for dresses?" Quartz suggests.

I sigh, making her sweat with nervousness. "We're waiting for Ikuto so he doesn't freak out on where we went."

"And so if anything happens he'll know where we were last," Kaki adds.

Nana smiles, purple pom-poms appearing. "Why don't we all stretch out the stress?"

Kaki and I exchange glances before shrugging and complying with Nana's leadership with the stretches. That works every time for me. Hidu yawns and a floating punching bag appears, boxing gloves fading onto her hands and she starts punching it, the thing actually going as far enough to swing back violently and smacking into her stomach so she slams into a wall. "Hidu!" Kaki exclaims. We race over to the wall and Hidu shakes her head roughly. Kaki picks her up and sits on a bench near the store. "Jeez, sure I want to fight dirty, but it's just lame when you get beaten by a punching bag."

Hidu chuckles, flying up and back peddling in circles around Kaki's head. "Well, I will do what I want when I want. Besides, I let the bag hit me so I can boost up its confidence. Then, I'll crush everyone of his dreams!"

"His?" I raise a brow.

"Yeah, a his with his balls chopped off," Hidu smiles.

Kaki and I scoot away from Hidu. Nana blinks and Cassie just pats Hidu's head with the left hand. "It's okay…it's okay…it's okay mentally disturbed Guardian Character…it's okay…"

"Who's mentally disturbed?" Hidu snaps.

I point to Kaki, in which she rolls her eyes. "Please."

I groan and whip out my phone, punching in Ikuto's number (528-252-4288) and hold it up to my ear. It rings twice. "Hello?"

"Ikuto, where are you?" I snap.

"Pet store. Where else would I be able to go with Yoru around?"

"Hey-nya! You wanted to go here-nya!"

"No, Yoru, I really didn't." I clear my throat. "Yep?"

"We're going to the store behind the music store," I inform. "Have fun getting cat-nip."

I hang up before he can respond to that and I stand. "He's informed."

Kaki nods and the Characters fly back into the house. We walk over to the store we mentioned and push through the door. It's various clothing articles much pertaining to a cross over of my style with Kaki's (black, black, gun buckle, black, red, purple, blue, black). I follow Kaki to a dress wall and we start shuffling through. Kaki pulls out a ruffle dress with red layers and white layers, a red corset with white strings, ribbons dangling off some ruffles and a rose where the left boob should go. I shake my head and she slouches it over the rack, like usual. I pull out a mid-thigh purple dress with spaghetti straps and a ruffled, layer bottom with one white ribbon on the right and one on the left. Kaki snaps her fingers and points to it. "That's it! That's the PERFECT dress for you!"

I stare at it and raise a brow. "Hazel hair and blue eyes…do you really think that'd go?"

"Oh come on, you're wearing the contacts for one and for two who cares? It's cute, it's not that exposing like that navy dress you had on previously…"

"I thought it looked nice!" I defend.

Someone licks the inside of my ear. "I agree."

I scream and duck behind Kaki to see Ikuto, the pervert in torn jeans, a T-shirt with a white background, a gray box with a slanted red box and a black cross with white lines in it, and black shoes, like usual. "Hey!" I whine. "Stop doing that!"

"But it's fun," he smirks.

"NOT FOR ME IT'S NOT!"

"Oh, but I'm being me."

Yep. That's it. Remember that little thing in 'My Patch of Ice and Blood' where I said cutting myself up was 'fun' and 'me'? That was the bite-back. No WONDER where it went. "Oh shut up," I sigh. "That was a long time ago."

"More like seven months," Kaki mutters.

I nudge her ribs with my elbow. "Okay, so we going to get this?"

"Wow, and I thought _I _was clueless about life," she mutters. "You can't just get a dress! You need something to go with it!"

"No, I really-"

"I agree with Kaki," Ikuto smirks.

"Really?" I spread my arms, disbelief all over my face.

Quartz comes out of the house, smiling like she just gave birth to Heaven. The others stay in though. "Why don't we look for shoes, since all dresses need appropriate shoes!"

I glare and Kaki nods in agreement, hulling me off while Ikuto follows us, smirking. I gulp and grip the dress in my hand. "I swear all of you are against me."

Kaki giggles darkly and stops in front of these towering racks of _shoes alone_. You know, I think I can pretty much get how torturous this 'shopping' idea is to males. None of the DMN less, I still check shoes, their prices, and other various things that narrow the selection down to a pair of black strap heels with the peep-toe concept or purple flats. I pluck off the purple flats and Maki raises a brow. "Are you sure?" she wonders. "I mean it goes, but black would probably go along with it better. I mean look at Kip."

_**I look down at the egg with wide, surprised eyes and a crack breaks through the egg in half, horizontally speaking. A little girl with a black bun, thin, gray-framed glasses perched on a tiny nose, a purple T-shirt, black sweats, brown boots, a white violin, a black bow gripped in her hands, and a lovely blush added to her albino cheeks.**_

I nod. "True, true, but I still think the purple flats are better."

She shrugs. "Suit yourself."

"What's next?" Quartz beams.

"Cash register then home!" I groan, stomping to that direction before Ikuto picks me up by the waist. "HEY! PUT ME DOWN YOU DMN MOLESTER!"

"You could at least ask nicely," he teases.

I huff. This is going to be one long day.

_Get away_

"Hurry up!" Kaki laughs.

"Look, I don't like being back here you jerk!" I scold.

Yep, next day and BACK at Seiyo Academy for visitor purposes. Apparently Kaki was texting Amu yesterday about the news about Sorrow (a whacko, I know), so Amu told us to come here, to the Royal Garden. Tadase is in front of the greenhouse (I believe…) with Amu and Kukai. "Hello Kaki and Maki-cha!" Tadase waves.

I blink and look around to see a young girl with light brown pigtails and one with long blonde hair with a black headband. A guy with long purple-black hair is next to the blonde. Guardian Characters swarm around my head, making me yelp and jump back, Nana and Quartz groggily flying up from the house on my back. "Hello-dechu!" a baby Guardian Character greets through a yellow binky.

"H-Hi?" I stutter.

"Yo!" Daichi greets. "You're back Maki!"

"Apparently so…" I rub my upper left arm.

"Yo!" a Guardian Character with headphones and some rapper/sports guy outfit on. "I'm Rhythm! The baby's Pepe, the king is-"

"Kiseki, I know, we've met," I blink. I turn to Nana. "Why don't you go and me-"

"Yo Maki!" Kukai calls. "Can you watch the Guardian Characters while we're off?"

"W-WHAT?" I gasp.

"Well, you'd never say what's going on," Amu shrugs.

I sigh, sweat suffocating the skin on my forehead, and they walk off, leaving _every single Guardian Character to me. _I note Ran, Miki, and Su flying up along with a yellow singer with two diamonds on the headband. "Hello!" she greets. "I'm Dia!"

I silently wave and turn to a clown-type Character with blonde hair and green diamonds painted on her cheeks. She giggles and smiles at me. "I'm Kusu-Kusu!" she giggles even more.

"YO!" I scream as Yoru flies up, panting like crazy with some bag of dried sardines. "PHEW! Man do you know how long it takes to fly to here from the market?"

I spread out my arms, my face warped with all the confusion particles this world could ever offer. "NO! Why would I? Even so…WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

Yoru offers me the sardine bag. "I heard you needed a breather-nya, so I got this-nya."

I blink, the arms paralyzed on spot, and accept the bag. I walk over to a nearby bench under some arch or whatever and grip both sides, ripping a hole in the top and handing two sardines to Yoru. The rest of the Guardian Characters crowd around me. I plop a sardine in my mouth and lay back, staring at the sky. _**A girl with long black hair and a white dress sprinkled with blood appears. She has claws like the X-Negative, but her mouth is different. Every tooth is a carnivore's fang.**_ I feel at my forehead to no 'X', but I don't get it. Why did she look like an absolute monster? How could diseases even do that? I groan and put my head in my hands. "UGH! I'm so DMN confused!"

"Hey, isn't that Maki Kia?"

I blink into my palms and look up to that chick Saaya and her posse. Saaya smirks evilly and next thing you know, she's standing in front of me, hands on hips. "Why hello!" she greets. "Remember me?" I blink like an idiot. "Of course you do, who would forget me? So are you visiting?" I simply nod. No use of fighting today or else I might end up a complete goner. "Well, why don't you watch some classes? I'm sure that'd be better than sitting alone."

I shake my head and stick a sardine into my mouth. "Look," I mutter through all the sardine, "I don't like you. I'd rather stick here and w-"

"Maki?"

I freeze and slowly edge my head to the right to see Lo, all dressed up in his school uniform. I can feel my eye twitch and Saaya blinks like I'm supposed to know something here. "Didn't you know the high school students were coming today?" she asks.

I gulp and shake my head. "Don't worry!" Dia tries to calm me down. "Just stay silent and ignore him!"

"NO! Run for it!" Ran and Nana scream together.

Quartz and Miki sigh. "Why not just say 'later' and go?"

"Hit him with a rattle!" Pepe cheers.

_That _earns a higher percentage of stares than when I cried 'stop treating me like a shared sex doll' in the airport. I shake that odd outburst out and stand. I kick my feet into a dash. Ran and Nana cheer me on as the others struggle to keep up (Yoru's fast, but remember the sardines I gave him?).

_Get away_

I'm panting against a tree, clutched my knee and nearly coughing my lungs up, but all that comes out is blood. I wipe my mouth and look around to eventually find a water-fountain, walking over and placing my mouth close to the faucet, slamming my lower palm on the button and allowing the cool, clear liquid to replenish my thirst. I straighten and the Guardian Characters fly in front of my face, each and every one having a look of certain worry. "What?" I shrug.

"Maki-cha…" Quartz pouts.

"You need to cheer up," Su smiles softly. "I'm sure it didn't go out well the first time, but I'm sure if you just do a few things to get it all off your mind, I'm sure you'll feel better."

Daichi laughs and flies up. "Why don't we have a little contest? Whoever can cheer her up gets to…uh…"

"Have cake?" I raise a humored brow. Man is _this _going to be good.

"Yeah!" Pepe cheers.

"Then it's settled!" Kiseki roars with kingly laughter.

"Ah jeez…" Ran, Miki, and Su all sigh their faces much like the (*-*;) symbol.

I laugh and I pick out pieces of grass, holding them up while covering the bottoms. "Everyone pick grass."

They each pluck out one and Ran ends up with the shortest. Oh CRP.

"To the racing tracks!" she cries, speeding to that very area.

We chase after her and skid to a stop to an abandoned area, where the racing tracks are. Quartz and Miki nod at each other and a track outfit of a black sports bra and loose cargo shorts with black running shoes tight around my feet appearing with the swipes of two paintbrushes, one teal, one blue. I huff and a whistle appears in Ran's hands. The Guardian Characters line up next to her to serve as bystanders/cheering fans by the looks of it. "On the whistle?" I wonder.

She nods. "On your mark…" I prepare rapidly. "Get set…" I make final adjustments, sweat already tracking down my face.

The whistle blares and I set off, running as fast as I can go. During it, I check some things, since running and stretching has seemed to clear my mind quite a bit. Let's see…oh crud. Ikuto's not seventeen…he's eighteen. SHT how could I screw that up? That's just bull. I shake that thought out and take the petal to the metal, finishing my second lap without much realization and rushing to complete the third and last. The characters are cheering, Ran is watching as I go, smiling widely according to Jupiter, and I skid to a stop. They all jump in mid-air as I pant my lungs out (near to literal). My clothes re-appear and they compare grass, so Nana is next. "Oh great…" I mutter.

"Why don't we eat a healthy snack and some dancing?" she suggests.

Now _that _I like.

_Get away_

The remains of orange are stuck in between tight wedges in my teeth. The same gym clothes are back and I'm practicing some simplistic moves to further advance to expert, which I find myself in desperate need of improvement. But hey, I'll get there someday. I smile at my positive attitude brought along by exercise. "Man is she something."

I freeze in the middle of a twirl as I fall back down to basics to stare at some boys 'hiding' behind a tree. I scream and duck into a bush, Quartz and Miki quickly returning the clothes with their brushes. "WHAT THE FCK?" I shoot out of the trees. "Shouldn't you be in class or something?"

I hear a low chuckle and freeze. None other than Ikuto comes up from across the field. "It's your fault for being so adorable," he seductively teases. "Maybe if you weren't exposing yourself like that…" he twirls a lock of sweaty hazel, "…things would be different."

"Like I'd be in Easter now, being tested on like some animal," I snap viciously.

He freezes and the boys behind the tree take this opportunity to scram. Ikuto sighs and slithers his hand down from my hair to my wrist, pulling it up to his cheek to nudge it, like a cat almost. "No, you wouldn't. Didn't I already tell you that's _not _why I love you?"

I huff and he drops my wrist, clutching the brown strap of a school bag. The Guardian Characters all stare at him as he walks away, stopping once to look back at Yoru. Yoru twiddles his paws. "C-Can I stay with Maki-nya? We're trying to cheer her up…"

Ikuto nods and walks off. I rest a hand on the house and remember when we first met in this school together. He was rather PSSED and ended up breaking one of the eggs, but Amu fixed her up with Amulet Clover. I'm grateful. I turn and we compare the grass once again to find it's Kiseki's turn. He roars with triumph. "Follow me commoners, for I shall be the victor of this game!" We follow him, Pepe and Daichi looking like they're being forced to dance naked in front of dogs. I stifle a laugh while Yoru is talking to Quartz, her hands entwined behind her and her hips swinging left to right with her ankles clipped together and a slight blush coloring her albino face. It's a sure sign she's nervous about something. "Here we are!"

We all blink at some old observatory. "Wow!" Quartz's eyes beam.

"It's HUGE!" Nana smiles.

I giggle and the Characters lead me in, Nana and Quartz remaining next to my head. We enter through towering old doors to a room with a sunset colored ceiling. I sit down in a blue chair as the Characters all reside on the roof top of the house now in my lap. The ceiling fades to the night sky and stars flicker, making me smile wide and laugh a little out of joy. "Pretty!" Quartz reaches for the stars.

"Wow…" I gap. "It's amazing. Jeez if these were answers to Sorrow, I'd build a rocket out of milk cartons and shoot right on up there."

"Why milk cartons?" Ran wonders.

"Because, who'd think of that?" I chuckle.

"Nobody," a friendly voice announces itself.

I turn to see a man maybe in his mid-thirties with sandy hair in croppy strands much like Ikuto's morphed with Tadase's and his skin is a faint shade of tan, a light green caretakers uniform fitting perfectly. "Who are you?" I raise a brow.

He smiles. "I'm the caretaker."

"And the headmaster," Miki sighs with a reminding tone.

"Yes, that as well," he nods. He sits down a chair down on my right. "You're Maki Kia?"

I nod. "Yep, that's me. You should really meet my mom though, she's the best! She even has her own Guardian Character."

He looks a bit saddened. "Ah."

"Something wrong?" I ask.

He looks over at me. "Your mother came over while you were off somewhere four months ago…she said she was concerned about 'X' Negative."

I shrug. "Well, it is infected."

"With Sorrow," he finishes.

I nod curtly. "I don't get how it works," I admit. "I don't really know anything about it. I barely know anything on 'X' Negative and I stick my head into the world where giving up life is the way, as much as I want out, I just keep getting pulled in." I smile at the stars. "But right now I'm alive, so I want to find a way to make things safer for my family!"

He smiles at me. "Well, I must say that you have a big heart."

Didn't Ikuto say something about that six months ago? I push that at the back of my head and kick my feet gently. "I've been told that."

"By a certain black cat," he rhymes.

I laugh and Kiseki crosses his arms to the others, sticking out his tongue. They start bickering and eventually Yoru shoots up in front of my face, making me lean all the way back with wide eyes centering to him. "Ready?"

"Okay, do you want me to cheer up or are you going to fight about it?" I giggle.

"Would you like some help?" the man asks.

I nod and we both stand up. Man how do I get the feeling this is going to be a long day?

**A.N: And THAT is why I'm splitting it.**

**About that third, at the end of this one, I'll put up an excerpt as the very last chapter and I'll hope you'll review on that so I know whether or not to write it. I can't reveal much otherwise that's spoiling, and I KNOW people hate spoilers.**

**So review, because my eyeballs are MELTING from checking every five minutes I'm actually HOME. **

**If you know Vampire Knight, check out the poll on the profile.**

**Still hoping I'll get suggestions for 'Kaki's song'.**

**A little side fact: out of all my stories, this is the second most reviewed. YAY! Thank you wonderful reviewers! **


	13. Cheer Up! Part 2 of 2

**Note: Honestly I thought the Characters were being a little shadowed out, so I wanted to put this and to show this for future references. **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 13_

**Cheer Up! Part 2 of 2**

"ARE YOU SURE THIS IS SAFE?" my voice shakes as I look down from the HIGH roof.

"Yep!" Yoru smiles.

"YOU'RE A CAT!" I remind him. "THAT APPLIES DIFFERENTLY TO ME!"

"I don't think this is helping her at _all_," Rhythm whispers to Nana, in which she nods in agreement.

"You could stop anytime," Kiseki reminds me.

I shake my head, taking one long withdraw of sweet oxygen and one long deposit of carbon dioxide. "Nah, I just need to suck…it…up?"

Honestly I can't stop my bad habit with looking _down_. I swipe out a Vampire Knight Manga and flip to some random picture of Zero, sticking his 'Bloody Rose' (vampire killing gun) to Hanabusa Aido's (vampire in night class (class full of vampires) at Cross Academy) head. I huff. How can Zero (hunter/Level D (former human) be so DMN brave with _vampires _and I can barely balance on a _roof_. I mean that's just ridiculous since he's only three years older than me! I suck up some air and re-pocket the Manga, Zero's courage (sorrow, hatred, vengeance, whatever you call it) inspiring me to complete this simple task. I speed up slightly, the Headmaster carefully observing down below. I giggle as I keep up the progress and Yoru sticks his tongue out at the others, sort of rising up a chaos. I laugh and reach the end, sliding down a ladder at the end and the balls of my feet meeting the ground with a slight _thump_.

"Wasn't that fun?" Yoru asked.

Nana blinks. "Where did you put the 'nya'?"

"Nowhere-nya," he raises a brow as if she was crazy.

"Okay, who's next?" I rub my hands together in that 'I'm so gonna win' stage.

"Me!" Rhythm announces. "Can you play basketball?"

I nod, smiling wider than Texas (American state). "In America, I played it in the streets and boys thought I was Champion worthy!"

Rhythm smiles at my enthusiasm and we race off. Of course, like in every story, I'm not paying attention and WHAM! Hit a pole. I mean seriously those hurt, a LOT!

_Ikuto's staring out of a classroom window. Students are talking excitedly and Amu walks up with her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with you?"_

_He blankly faces her. "Nothing much…" he mutters groggily. _

"_Yeah right. If you want to see Maki, she's here."_

_He stands up. "SHE'S WHAT?"_

_That earns more stares than Pepe's outburst._

I blink my eyes open to find every character above my face, the Headmaster higher than that. "Are you alright?" Dia panics.

I rub my head and sit up. "O-ouch…what the heck?"

"YO!" Yoru waves a paw frantically in front of my face. "FULLY AWAKEN-NYA!"

"ALRIGHT!" I snap.

"Ah! She's mad! She's mad!" Ran and Miki scream.

I sigh, sweat suffocating the skin on my forehead. Kiseki flies to the front and faces them. "Hey! She needs to cheer up, not stress out!"

I grumble and stand, wiping dirt off the dress and the headmaster looks around. "Oh…I have to attend to some important matters. Please feel free to roam Miss Kia."

He walks off. "WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" I call. He refuses to turn. I huff and cross my arms. "The psychos I get stuck with…"

They all bicker and I chuckle, walking onto the basketball court and Quartz with Miki wave the paint and a white tank top with 'PUNK THIS!' in 'chiller' black letters diagonally. That black American baseball cap I had the day I found Mack is once again backwards and a torn arm glove colored white with black streaks materializes on my left arm. Black shorts with white stripes streaking down the sides replace the bottom off the dress and black sneakers with blotches of white replace the purple flats. Bandages wrap tightly around my right upper arm and a long silver chain with a tiny basketball droops over the little Character chain. It's a bit overboard, since it goes below the chest. I pluck it off and pocket it, buttoning the pocket close and someone walking up with a basketball uniform and a basketball. He has black hair to the top of his ears and he's, what, FIFTEEN? Totally datable, but he'd CRUSH ME!

"Go against him!" Yoru cheers.

"Yeah!" Pepe cheers.

I glare at both of them and Daichi flies over next to Rhythm. "I don't know dude…something's up…"

"Ah don't worry!" Rhythm assures. "Go ahead Maki! One game ought to make your heart grow three times!"

I raise a brow. "Have you been watching the Grinch?" I mouth.

"What's that?"

Figured. "Hey shrimp! What 'cha doing on the courts?"

I freeze and glare. "Who you calling shrimp?"

He snarls. "Move kid!" Three other guys maybe fourteen appear behind him. "Me and my boys have the courts now!"

"You go to this school?" They shake their heads. "Then no you don't!"

"Uh…Maki?" Kusu-Kusu pokes my cheek nervously.

"Shut up, little boy!" a jerk mocks.

I raise a brow. "BOY?" I crack my knuckles and march forward, snatching the ball and chucking it at the smart mouth's head. "I'M A GIRL YOU GENDER CONFUSED FCK!"

The fifteen leans down and I glare. "Yep, that's a girl," he straightens. "Give the ball and go play with your dolls, girlie."

I growl. "Nah. I came here to play basketball, and I will."

I bounce the ball twice and turn around, dashing for a hoop with the ball dribbling and I jump up, summer-salting in mid-air and delivering a back hand shot, hanging off the hoop for only a second before jumping down and retrieving the ball. "Huh, not bad," another punk scoffs. "Want a game?"

I shake my head. "I don't go against amateurs."

The fifteen year old laughs as I back hand shot at the three-point line. "You're SO going down!"

I smirk and retrieve the ball once again, all the Characters ducking into a bush. "Bring it."

_Get away_

"You know that's just sad when I can beat all your sorry ASES," I tusk, the ball twirling on the tip of my index finger.

They're all panting and wheezing, their hair sweaty masses of stench. I toss the ball to the fifteen-year-olds chest and walk off, the Guardian Characters swarming around my head cheering. "Marvelous!" Kiseki roars.

"YAY!" Ran and Nana cheer.

"Cool!" Rhythm presents a thumbs-up.

"NYA!" Yoru laughs, circling my head.

"DECHU!" Pepe smiles.

"Desu!" Su smiles.

"Aw…I didn't get to draw it," Miki sighs.

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!" Quartz twirls like a ballerina with each 'wonderful'.

I blink a bit. I NOW realize that Hidu and Cassie didn't come with? Ah jeez. "KUSU-KUSU!" Kusu-kusu giggles.

"Oh that was child's-play," I pride myself.

"SHE'S SO FCKING HOT!"

"DUDE SHUT UP!"

I freeze and look past a bench to see yet more high school dudes. I huff and dash off, Quartz and Miki returning the dress and flats. I freeze and let the cool air pushing against my sweating body cool it down so I don't get big sweat stains. "YO! YO! YO!"

I scream and duck under a water fountain. I blink up at Il and El once they appear. "What the…?"

"Hey El!" Su greets. "Hey Il!"

"YO!" Il skids to a stop. "What's with the gather 'bout?"

"We're trying to cheer up Ma-"

Everyone covers Su's fat mouth as I crawl out from under the water fountain, taking a small drink. "GRASS, NOW!"

They present the grass and I huff when I see Daichi's next. "Honestly? I've been doing NOTHING but physical activity except for Kiseki!"

Kiseki smiles and Daichi hatches an idea, I can tell. "Why don't we watch a class? Maybe then you'd cheer up by learning something!"

I raise a brow. "That's it?"

"Well, I'd rather win this, since I'm one for competitions!"

"Hey, can we go?" El asks.

"After these guys," I promise. "Guys who've already done their turn, GET IN THE HOUSE. I CAN'T TAKE OVERCROWD!"

Yoru, Kiseki, Nana, Ran, and Rhythm all fly in, Nana taking out cards before fully getting in. That makes a grin plaster onto my face. "Okay, class time," Daichi flies next to my head along with Pepe, Kusu-Kusu, Quartz, Il, El, Su, and Miki.

_Get away_

"Oh hello!" I bump into the headmaster near a classroom door. "Do you want to watch this class?" I nod nervously and he opens the door. "Excuse me, but you'll be having an observer."

I gulp as I hear a few whispers and I walk in shyly. "Oh, it's Maki-san!" Tadase notes.

I raise a brow and look around to see Amu and Saaya and Rima. I wave shyly and take a random seat, not honestly looking to see who was next to me. "Well, hello." I yelp and scoot as far away to the right as POSSIBLE. Jeez. Out of all days in the year, I had to come the day _he _had to come visit with the rest of his school. The class continues and I can hear him slightly chuckling. I twiddle my thumbs and the characters all stare at me with confusion. Il chuckles darkly and goes off somewhere I can't see her, but I don't panic. I mean not that many people can see her, right? Right? I try to focus into what the orange-haired man is saying, but it's hard with all the nervousness building up inside. I bite my lip. _Okay, so they took a break from their business…wait…WHERE IS KAKI THEN? __**Cool down, jeez. I'm with Kukai. **__…You can STILL talk to me? __**Rarely, but hey, I'm sleeping on a tree right now. It's so funny to be able to listen to the ways someone tries to wake you up! **__…Moving on with my life…_

"AMU!"

"HUH?" Amu wakes up from apparent slumber.

"Ugh…"

Some people laugh and I slump back. This is exactly why I don't go to school.

_Get away_

"Class dismissed," the teacher sighs.

I stand and try to be the first out. "Maki!" Saaya hugs my shoulders, making me freeze with that 'WHAT THE FCKING HECK?' look pointed at her. "At lunch, do you want to sit next to me?"

_Kaki? **Hey, I'm not going NEAR her. **Get your as over here! **Nah…I'd prefer to laze around and think about ways of kicking peoples ASES instead. **I swear…**Swear what? That I can't kick anyone's puppy if I don't come? **YOU KICK PUPPIES? **So? **DUDE THAT'S JUST WRONG! **No, wrong is grabbing some guys balls. **Don't bring that up again…_

"Um…I have to do something…" I gulp, shrugging out only to be caught by Ikuto.

"Do you have to go Maki-koi?"

WHOA! WHERE DID 'KOI' COME FROM? To those clueless Americans, KOI is what you put at the end of a girlfriend or boyfriend's name. "YES! NOW LET GO YOU-"

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto…" Tadase growls. "Let her go."

"Why should I?" Ikuto hugs me from behind tighter.

"Saaya, if you want me to sit next to you at lunch, get out now."

She speeds off with her posse. "Tsukiyomi!" Tadase growls.

I shrug out and run out. Daichi flies into the house and I stop round a corner, panting and clutching my knees. "Someone…tell…me…what…next!

They compare the grass and I sigh once I see that it's Pepe. "YAY! Now-dechu, let's go to the flower garden!"

I blink. Do I really have to run back outside? I eye a window and creep over, opening it and jumping through right when Amu goes through the door. "MAKI-CHA!"

I twirl a bit and land perfectly on my feet. The Guardian Characters goggle and I stand up straight, walking off to flower patches. The girl with the pigtails spots us and waves. "HEY!" she greets with a wide smile. "I'M YAYA!"

I stop and turn to look for Il. Still not here? El is. I shrug and walk over to Yaya. "Hi," I smile. "I'm Maki."

"Nice to meet you!" she giggles. "Did you come here to see the flowers? I've grown them with Pepe over the time and look!"

I glance over and I must admit, for Yaya to do these on her own does in fact seem impressive. They're all blooming and colorful, as if these plants are all the world's happiness. I smile softly, the aura of these flowers getting to my head. "Wow…I don't think a florist could do this well of a job."

"Really?" she beams. I nod. She hugs me. "You're so nice! Hey…what's the deal with this Sorrow anyway? Is it lonely?"

I freeze. Lone…lonely? How could she? She killed those two on purpose (you can sort of tell since this is only for two character bearers and there was four eggs [do the math]). I shake the thought out. "No. It just loves suffering."

She pouts. "That's not nice!"

I shake my head. "Nope, it really isn't. Hey, I need to leave you to your work, since I have to get these guy's little 'dares' I guess in. Do you want to have Pepe back?"

"You can keep her until you're done!" she smiles, watering some lilies and lavenders.

I nod and we walk off, Pepe flying into the house when Nana lifts the roof. "Next?" I fold my arms behind my head as I walk.

"Me!"

"Who's me?" I huff.

"Kusu-Kusu!"

I huff and turn. "What is it?"

She twirls a bit and does this weird lean pose. "BALA-BALANCE!"

I raise a brow and try to copy it. "Bala-balance?"

I end up tumbling to the side. "NO! IT'S ALL WRONG!"

I jump to see Rima with the same green diamonds on her cheeks. "Well, I never heard of it, so."

"I'll teach you!" she grunts like a military sergeant. "Ready?" I shrug. She does the same thing with Kusu-Kusu as a partner in crime, to her left and both going inward. "BALA-BALANCE!"

I huff and wipe some sweat off my brow. "Okay…" I take a deep inhale and copy it exactly. "BALA-BALANCE!"

"Wow," Rima giggles. "You're a fast learner."

I shrug. "It comes from staying at home a lot and learning to stay home alone most of the time."

She looks a little saddened, but I guess she pushes that to the back of her head. "Well, I need to go. See you!"

She walks off and Kusu-Kusu flies into the house. So far, they've all done pretty good. I look up to the sky. Man, today's the closest to normal day EVER. It's sort of sad, but hey, it's something. Suddenly Su pops up waving her grass like CRAZY. "My turn!"

I sigh. "Lead the way…"

_Get away_

"I'm not sure about this…"

"Don't worry, we'll guide you through!"

"We will?"

El and Su kick Miki. "Of course!" Su huffs.

I grab the bowl and start gently placing ingredients, cracking eggs and pouring flour, that kind of stuff. The conversation of Ikuto's age comes into picture and it turns out he is in fact seventeen (my head hurts because of that). I stuff the bowl into the oven and watch it bake, a circular cake coming out (since it's still in the bowl). Hemispherical, call it whatever you want, but it's cake, it's one of those 'don't care, LET'S EAT' types of things. It's chocolate of course, soon to have strawberry frosting and a white egg with a little golden set of wings in the very center, just as a little skit. The Guardian Characters work carefully to spread the strawberry frosting while Su and I wait to put on the egg. That's not far. Soon we have a cake, about the size of the outgrown house, with a delicious freshness to it.

"Can't we eat it now?" Quartz whines.

I shake my head. "This is the winning cake."

Su flies back into the house and leaves me with Quartz, El (Il MIA right now), and Miki (man this is long huh?). Miki holds up her grass strand. "My turn! You'll love this!"

I encase the cake carefully and walk out of the cooking area of the school, bumping into someone with my back. "Sor-"

"Maki, what were you doing in the cooking area?"

I gulp once I realize it's Saaya. "Nothing in particular," I laugh nervously. "I…have to go!"

"What's that?" one of her friends points to the cake.

I gulp. Stuck between a rock and a hard place now, huh? "Just something for a friend…GOT TO GO!"

I run off and try to go down steps, but I end up tripping, the cake flying and my body slamming into a wall roughly. My neck is sore and I black out for the tiniest second, but even that scares me out of my wits. Sorrow is there, waving with one bloodied claw with veins stuck in between her teeth. "I'm waiting."

I gasp and open my eyes, something smacking hard into my face and I hear my nose snap. I scream and shove up, looking around for the cake. "Where the heck did it go?"

"Maki…" Miki points over to the next staircase.

I look over and Quartz covers her mouth. It's the cake, spread all over the first and second step down. My eyes widen and I groan, shoving my head in between my knees and hugging the shins tightly. "CRP!"

"We can make another!" Quartz assures.

"Yes! It's not impossible!" El cheers.

"Hey, what's going on?" I hear Il ask.

Oh NOW she shows up? Jeez these people have the WORST timing in history. "I made a cake, and I wrecked it," I fill her in, stabbing a finger in the cake's direction.

"Hey, are you okay?" one of Saaya's friends ask while running down to meet me.

I growl and shove my legs up, standing and stomping over to the cake. "FCK this. I'm going home."

"But-"

"Hey, those who don't belong to me get out of the house!" I growl.

The roof opens and all but Nana exits. My cheek stings and I guess they see the cause. "What was that rolling?" Daichi wonders.

"Are you alright?" Dia worries.

I look down and try to clean up the cake as best as I can, storming down the steps. I turn when I realize Quartz isn't here. "QUARTZITE!"

She squeaks and flies down to meet me. She rushes in the house and I chuck the cake into a nearby garbage can, running off through the school building doors and down the path. I'm sick of this. It's nothing but ridiculous SHT. I feel the 'X' begin. _STOP IT! I'M IN NO MOOD 'X' NEGATIVE! _I guess even it's afraid of me…

…cause the 'X' disappears with command.

**A.N: Jeez…what a drama queen. I mean MAKE ANOTHER CAKE! That's how the story goes, so yeah, Maki is a suicidal drama queen who's in love with a sports jock and a pervo. Weird huh?**

**1) If you know VAMPIRE KNIGHT, try checking out the poll**

**2) I hope you enjoyed this chapter**

**3) Review**

**4) I appreciate all these wonderful reviews! It gives me confidence to write about the favorite 'X' Negative bearer (the only one in FanFiction though…[hopefully])**

**5) Review**

**SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER^^**


	14. Back and Forth Plan

**NOTE: YUKI HISHINO AND HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 14_

**Back and Forth Plan**

My head is stuffed under a pillow, my torso covered with the blanket, and my as along with legs sticking out the end (no, it's just folded up, not that I somehow landed in radiation poisoning and grew two feet or so). "Maki-cha…" Quartz whines, worried [still].

"I don't think she wants to talk…" Nana whispers to Quartz.

OKAY, THANK YOU NANA! My cell rings and I chuck the pillow at the nightstand, the clock and multiple Rosario + Vampire and Vampire Knight Mangas crashing to the floor, along with an empty glass that was water to go with last night's aspirin. I whip off the blanket and swipe the cell off the desk. I flip it open and bring it to my ear. "PSSED off Maki Kia, at your unwanted service!"

There's a bit of silence, so I nearly hang up. "Maki, I know you're upset, but I want you to talk to a friend of mine."

"What friend?" I lift it back to my ear.

"Okay, her name is Yuki Hishino," she informs. "I'll ask her to come over. Just please talk to her? She's really sweet!"

I sigh. "Alright, but if it ends up that she's a cannibal psycho, you're SO being eaten first while I run off to Acapulco."

I hang up and march to the closet to shrug on a off-shoulder navy top and black pants with a navy leather belt. Nana and Quartz smile and fly over as I stomp my feet into the black combat boots and tie up the hazel hair into a high ponytail, jumping up and dashing out (the window of course).

_Get away_

"Tell me again why you jumped out a window," Amu sighs, shaking her head at the door.

What did you think I was _joking_? Now _that's _cold people. "I wanted to see if I could fly," I snap sarcastically. I spread my arms in disbelief at this chick. "I mean hello! Everyone needs to see if they can fly like Peter Pan!" She just cocks her head. "Peter Pan?" I repeat. I groan when she shakes her head. "FLYING CARTOON CHARACTER FROM AMERICA! JEEZ WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE!"

"I'm not American!" she sighs. "Yuki! Maki's here!"

"Oh this should be fun," I mutter as Amu forcefully drags me in.

Something collides with my forehead and I blink. "Sorry! Oh Annie stop ramming into people!"

"Sorry Yuki!" I hear a Guardian Character squeak.

I shake my head to see at the foot of the stairs is a girl, maybe fourteen, with shoulder yellow hair and large pink-brown eyes. Her skin is EXTREMELY pale, like paper, and she's wearing a off shoulder top with tank top sleeves that's ocean green with vertical black stripes and a pink tube top under it, since it goes down to her hip at the right side and gradually goes up diagonally to the bottom of the chest, left side. She has a white leather belt with 'X's going horizontally all around holding up black pants with black sneakers at the bottom. What sort of creeps me out is the abnormally large 'hyper' smile, but she looks like a nice person none of the less. "Hi, I'm Yuki Hishino!" she smiles. "It's nice to meet you, Maki! This is my Character, Annie," she points to YET ANOTHER cat like character (jeez, isn't Yoru bad enough?) with large black ears and gently whipping black tail with a white tip, tiny black paws and large eyes the same ocean color as Yuki's top. She has a knee length pink dress and she ALSO has shoulder yellow hair. Yuki smiles even WIDER and takes out an ESPECIALLY colorful egg, with one pink stripe at the top, then a red, white, brown, white, blue, white, beige, yellow, teal, pink, brown, and finally teal, one quarter note slanted to the right and a…eighth note? I don't know, next to it, with a microphone slightly above to the right and slanting in, a paintbrush's tip in between the gap of the eighth note, a little random shape with patches of the primary colors with a white background, a little paper with a flower drawn on it near the bottom and a pencil over to the right, slanted up slightly. "This is my second egg."

I raise a brow. "Uh…"

She giggles. "I don't know either."

Annie flies in front of my nose, so I have to cross my arms like when I first saw Nana. "Hello!" she waves a tiny paw. "It's nice to meet you!"

I turn to Amu. "She has two Characters?"

"Yep," Amu shrugs.

I turn to Yuki. "Do you have…uh…"

She shakes her head. Oh of course she doesn't, she's way too happy! "No, I don't have 'X' Negative," she smiles. "Although I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

I roll my eyes. "Okay, so if I said I killed someone, you'd keep it a secret?" She nods and I smile, turning to Amu. "Hey Amu…are you able to call Ikuto over?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "Okay Yuki might not be able to tell, but I sure as HLL am!"

I roll my eyes and fake a pout. "You're no fun."

Yuki laughs and we all sit on the couch. After ten minutes of awkward silence, she stands, eye twitching (what the heck) and starts pacing back and forth. "Jiamdj afgjalgk dgdjgspgks lskj stpslf sflsmf osgm slgm socsla kfal fmaa sf lcjw pp jw pc pweet cow shepa asphalt…" and more jibberish than THAT.

I raise a brow and turn to Amu. "So Amu," Yuki stops pacing and sits back down with the smile, making me scoot closer to Amu, "why did you want me to talk to Yuki?"

She smiles like she accomplished something. "To introduce you. You're already happy, so mission complete!"

I groan and slump back. "Jeez…"

I stand to leave. "Wait!" Yuki calls. She walks over and places a note in my hands. Before I can speak, she speaks. "That's my cell number if you ever need me to come over."

I blink and exit. I have thoughts of just tearing it up, but she is a nice person, so I decide to keep it.

_Get away_

Okay, so here's what happened.

An hour or so ago, my cell rang and I went to pick it up. It was Kio. Who else? "Hey, Ma!" he greeted. "How are you?"

"Good!" I blushed, thankful he couldn't see me. "So, are you calling for a reason, may…I…ask?"

"Yep!" he cheered. "I was wondering if you were free tomorrow at five?"

"I always am. Why?"

"Because, there's this party for my team and we're allowed to invite people, so I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

I covered the phone and jumped with joy. I covered my mouth to stop from saying 'YES, YES, MARRY ME GD DMNIT, YES!' and just cleared my throat casually. "Sure," I muttered. "Don't see why not."

"Great! I'll pick you up at four-thirty!"

He hung up and I placed it back on the desk. Okay, I couldn't stop smiling, but that's not CLOSE enough to why I'm even writing this fraction of the chapter. I was comfortable with the fifteen minutes of Manga reading I got before SOMEONE put their hands on the fronts of my thighs. "YAHAYAYHYA!" I jumped, nearly falling off the chair while turning around.

"Yo," Ikuto (WHO ELSE NEARLY RAPES ME?) chuckled. "Why do you seem so surprised?" I pointed down to the hands on my thighs, not removing my 'what the fcking heck are you doing btch' gaze from his amused eyes. "What?" he _clutched _them. "You don't like it?"

"NO!" I screamed. "CUT IT OUT YOU FCKING PEDOPHILE!"

He laughed and removed his hands (thankfully that's not enough to have to change the ratings [haven't you noticed I'm lazy peoples?]). My stomach was churning, and I doubted it was the leftover garlic bread from dinner, since Mommy came home early. He leaned in next to my ear, whipping the chair around so I was facing his shoulder. "Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"N-No!"

Something went onto my lap and I looked down to see the same music festival flyer I got in the mail some days ago with his hand pressing it down. Jeez I was _b-l-u-i-f-s-t-y-h-j-s, blushing_! "You said you would go," he whispered, the tip of his tongue tracing the ear's outline.

"H-H-HEY!" I screamed. "CUT IT OUT!"

He pushed his hand down harder. "See you tomorrow my little kitten."

He went out the window and I screamed when I looked down at the flyer. It was tomorrow.

At five.

_Get away_

So that's why I'm tapping my feet impatiently, waiting for Yuki to get her as over here! The door opens and she walks through, smiling and Annie by her side, a small little knit bag containing the mystery egg and a brown egg with a single red rose. "Yo!" she smiles (oh dear Gd). "You needed something?"

I nod frantically. "Okay, so two boys asked me to go out with them _same day, same time_!"

"Wow," she blinks. "Can't you just tell one no?"

"Yeah but one is a guy I _REALLY _like and the other I made it a long time ago!"

"Then why did you agree to the other?"

"Because I never knew the date to the first!"

"Then shouldn't you call the guy you already said and say 'something came up'?"

I put on my thinking face. I snap my fingers and she sits down on the chair, Nana and Quartz flying out to talk to Annie. "I got it! I'll just go to both!"

She raises a brow. "Do you _have _a cloning machine?" I shake my head. "Then that's impossible, Maki."

"How so?" I place my hands on my hips, one smug brow up.

"Look, if you just go back and forth between them, they'll figure out something's up, be hurt, and never want to talk to you again _thus _loosing a friend and a future husband."

I smile at the future husband remark. "Not if I have help!" I cheer.

"Am I here for a reason or just so I can hear you chat?" she giggles, arms crossed.

"Nope! You're helping!"

"Wait what?" she blinks. "Maki, I don't thin-"

"It's easy! You'll be a man at the side!"

"I'm a girl."

"Girl at the side!" I correct myself. "Annie can distract Yoru…"

"Huh?" Annie turns around.

"Yoru is the guy's Guardian Character, the one I promised already. He's a cat too."

"Yay! Annie want to talk to Yoru!"

"Okay, so you got _that _down," Yuki leans back. "What are you going to do when one guy gets curious where you went and goes to look for you while you're at the other date?"

"That's where patience comes into view!" I cheer. "Kio is extremely patient, Ikuto is or isn't, so when either of them look like they're going to check, you'll come to help!"

"That'll only work once for each."

_Get away_

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BROUGHT A COSTUME CHEST!" she hisses at me, me with the large, brown plastic chest.

I shrug. "It's all about-"

"Being desperate?" she sighs.

"Yep, pretty much."

I set it down and she shakes her head, arms crossed. "It's not going to work, Maki. No matter what I can't change costumes every five minutes! And…is that a fake mustache?" She points inside the box and picks it up, sticking it to above the lip. "Cool!"

I roll my eyes happily and tug on the navy skirt below the green tank top with white stars lining the bottom and a huge 'PUNK IT' made of Star of David's in the center slanted. The silver chain has the angel from six months ago (well, now it's six months) clipped to it and my black combat boots are buckled up with stars today, a tight black sash choking my right upper arm and my hair pulled into a spiky ponytail with two thick strands on each side of my face. "Wish me luck!" I click my tongue and give a thumbs-up, running off to Kio's party.

"BE CAREFUL!" she calls after me.

I skid onto the field and Kio waves me over. I smile and walk over. "Hey Kio!" I smile.

"Hey Ma," he laughs. "How's it going?"

"Eh, could be better." I wince. "So, has the party started?"

He has one brow raised from the wince. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I wince again. "Oh…um…can you excuse me for a second? I sort of scraped my thigh yesterday, so I need to rinse it out."

Okay, who tells a boy _that? _Tip: DON'T COME TO ME FOR DATING ADVICE! He laughs nervously. "Uh, sure!"

I nod and run off, blushing like crazy. I mean jeez out of everything I could've lied about, I chose _that_? Why didn't I use that on…Oh yeah…

…Ikuto would've said something along the lines of 'I'll kiss it to make it feel better'.

Decided: No using injury lies around Ikuto (ESPECIALLY SOMETHING IN THOSE AREAS! [I guess that 'breast cramp up' Kurumu tried to pull off in Rosario + Vampire pretty much scarred me for life].

_Get away_

To be honest, the soccer field is not THAT far from the festival, only three minutes if you run at one mile an hour, unlike me, so I got here in under a minute. I pant and my thigh really does feel like I scrapped it, just against a cheese grater. I huff and wipe some sweat off and something clonks into my forehead. I'm knocked back and I rub my head to look up to Yoru in his egg, multiple rounds of duct tape shutting him in. "IKUTO-NYA! IKUTO-NYA LET ME OUT-NYA!"

"Yoru?"

His egg swoops down in front of my face(…no comment…). "Maki-nya! GET ME OUT!"

I pluck the egg up and unwind the tape, Yoru bursting out and stretching. "Why the heck did Ikuto tape your egg?"

"Ikuto didn't! It was _your _whack-job one, Nana!"

I grit my teeth and take out super glue.

_Get away (from the super glue [I WILL USE IT!])_

"NYA! NYA! LET ME OUT-NYA!"

"You sure about this?" Yuki raises a brow.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be bad if you stuff it into a robot cat," I shrug. "I got to get back to the soccer party before he thinks I'm ditching. Ikuto might just think I'm running late."

I run back off and skid to a stop in front of Kio. "There you are!" he laughs. "Your…thigh…feeling better?"

I blush and nod. "Y-Yeah, um…thanks for asking?"

We're forced into that 'awkward silence' stage and my phone rings. "You should take that," Kio smiles and walks off to meet with some friends.

I nod and run off, forcing the phone to my ear (originally typed as 'ear to my phone'). "HELLO?"

"Oh, you're alive," Ikuto chuckles. "You do remember the festival's today, right?"

I swear he knows somehow. "YEAH! I'M ON MY WAY NOW!"

"You can stop screaming, I'm pretty sure I can hear you from-OOMPH!"

Yeah, so I ran into him. DON'T TALK ON THE PHONE AND RUN! IT HURTS THE MARATHON RUNNERS, IT'LL HURT YOU! We crash to the ground, me on him. I blush and jump off before he can remark 'you really want to touch my balls again?' or some perverted crp like that. "Sorry!"

"Oh it's okay, you only broke my spleen," he sighs, grunting while he gets up.

"Is that supposed to make me feel _better _or _worse_?"

Then he has me in a hug, lips [] far from my ear (REALITY BABY). I'm tight against his chest, even the legs close together! "Worse, so I can make it better."

Oh jeez…I feel him lick my ear and hold me closer, making me blush deep crimson. "H-Hey!" I yell, trying to push away. "W-What about the festival?"

"It can wait. It's only four: forty-five."

Oh yeah…Someone rams into us and we separate, me rolling onto the top step of stairs and Ikuto on his butt, rubbing his head. That's when some girl in a jogger's suit comes up. "Sorry!"

I raise a brow at the fake mustache. "Really Yuki?" I mouth. "Oh it's okay," I sigh. "You actually saved me from rape."

"Oh ha, ha," Ikuto snaps. "At least I can NOT cut myself for five minutes."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" I laugh. He nods. "Oh whatever, it's fun."

Yuki runs off, leaving Ikuto to sigh and lean down. "It's not. You really want to scar yourself up?" I nod and he sighs, cupping my face. "They're brown again."

"Huh?"

"And here I thought you were letting your true self go for a while…"

I blink. "So I put the contacts on…it's a habit." My phone rings. "Excuse me."

I run off, phone to ear (despite the don't talk on phone while running comment). "YEAH?"

"Hey, it's Amu."

"OH HI! YOU OKAY?"

"Yeah, um…Kukai was just wondering if you were coming to this soccer party in the-"

"ALREADY INVITED!"

"Oh really? That's good since Kukai and Tadase are coming!"

I freeze, my stomach churning. "T-Tadase?"

"Yep!"

Oh is this going to be fun.

**A.N: Sorry, I have to end the chapter there!**

**Okay, new Shugo Chara poll is up on profile!**

**Yuki, Annie, and mysterious 'art' egg is ALL xDemonChickx**

**THIS STORY IS TIED FOR FIRST IN REVIEWS (out of my stories that is)!**

**Something to think about (eh, I like talking to you guys [I'm lonely online :( [APRIL FOOLS! OH…it's not April]]): How would YOU have solved this situation where you were Maki and Kio AND Ikuto asked you out, the other not knowing you had a date already?**


	15. QUESTION EGG?

**NOTE: YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 15_

**QUESTION EGG?**

"What are you doing?" I ask Annie while we're walking (do you think I can run all day? I'm not a fcking marathon runner).

"Drawing."

"But why did you chose to draw on my _face_?"

She shrugs and keeps drawing with the mini (and ticklish, may I say) highlighter only God knows what. "Aren't you supposed to be talking with Yoru?" Quartz wonders, her big eyes growing BIGGER (emphasis on BIGGER to show how large they can get) with innocence (that or complete stupidity).

Nana sighs and shakes her head while I just start pricking my thumb from annoyance. "He's duct tapped in his own egg, REMEMBER? You _were _here last chapter (see? I'm not the only one who does it!), I know it!"

"Chapter?"

"Oh my Gd!" I groan. "You're my second character, and you don't know this by now?"

"I'm sorry!" she whimpers.

She 'eggs' herself and flies into my palm shivering, since the house isn't here for _once _in my life. I sigh and pat the exterior. "It's okay, I'm just grumpy because _someone _forgot to mention _Kukai _and _Tadase _were going to the party and they don't LIKE Ikuto."

"Of course they don't, they're not gay," Nana blinks.

"Oh really? That's _not _what I meant!"

She 'eggs' herself and flies into my palm shivering. I pat her egg as well and we continue to walk off, Annie still drawing on my face. I sigh. It really would've been nice of Yuki to warn me of that. I walk onto the soccer field and I see a hand behind some juice container wave me over. I raise a brow and walk over none of the less. Hey, if it's an alien, do you know how much I could make? MILLIONS people, and they'd probably write a (two-page) book about me that'd earn (two) dollars!...KAKI! **Couldn't resist! **Oh come on…again with the sub-author? **Hey, without me, you wouldn't HAVE a story! **Yeah I would! It'd just be…**less exciting, romantic, kissy-kissy with Ikuto, ma-**WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! WHAT THE FCK? I AM NOT KISSY-KISSY WITH THAT PERVERT! **Do you WANT me to pull out the pictures? **Wa-**TEN BUCKS FOR KISSY-KISSY PICS OF MAKI AND IKUTO! **GET BACK TO THE STORY! **Fine…AFTER CHAPTER! **NOT EVEN-I slam into the edge of the table and I blink, looking behind the container to Yuki, still wearing the fake mustache.

"What the heck?" I ask.

"What? It's cool!" she defends. "Anyways…okay first what the heck happened to your face?"

"What do you mean?"

"There are _highlighter kiss marks _everywhere."

I growl and turn to Annie. "Where you listening?"

"To what?"

I sigh. Yep, Kaki ruins my life every time. **Not every. **Shut up, you're not helping. **XP** Anyways…(man this feels more and more like a bad sitcom at 1:26P.M…). "What did you want?" I ask Yuki.

She holds up Yoru, kicking and screaming (no, not an exaggeration) in the egg (no sexual thoughts you perverts). "Any more duct tape?"

I hand her a spare roll I carry. "Okay remember, if he ever comes out, we're DEAD."

"Why me?"

"Because you came to help."

"No, you _forced _me to help, but," she shrugs, "whatever floats your boat."

I nod and walk onto the soccer field, looking around for Kio. "Yo!" I hear Kukai call. "Maki!"

"Hello Maki-cha!" Tadase greets.

Fck, fck, fck, fck, fck, fck. I wave sheepishly. "Y-Yo?" I gulp. "What brings you here?"

"Easy, I was on the opposite soccer team last game," Kukai smiles. "They invited us!"

I nod and Kio runs over. "There you are!" he smiles. "Who was on the phone?"

"Oh…um…" Should I say Ikuto? It'd make sense, but then Tadase would be sort of pssed, go off to confront Ikuto, then Ikuto would find out, and then I'd be gutted in my sleep. I need my guts you know! "A friend."

_More like a pedophile that FORCES me to comply…_"Oh, well I hope it was nothing serious. Anyway…"

"Hey you two!" one of Kio's soccer pals calls. "We're playing a rematch game!"

"Oh really?" Kio groans. "But I want to talk with Maki!"

"Come on! Show the girl your skills!" another laughs.

I blush. My phone rings and I pick it up, just glancing at the number to be able to tell it's Yuki's. "Got to go for a second!"

I run off, again with the panting and bad example of my 'no talking on the phone while running' campaign (signatures on petition?). "Hey Maki," Yuki greets. "Okay, for one, don't hesitate so much, they'll know something's up. Two, why'd you lie?"

"Technically…oh fck it, I lied," I sigh. IKUTO IS A GUY ON THE VERGE OF RAPING ME IN MY SLEEP! NOT A FRIEND! "Besides, if Tadase knew that Ikuto called me, then he'd freak, I guess…he doesn't seem to like Ikuto."

"Yeah, Amu and I noticed that as well," Yuki informs. "Oh watch out for the-"

I slam into a tree. "OWWW!"

"-tree. Watch out for the tree with a twelve-year-old idiot pinned to it."

"Oh really?" I roll my eyes.

She giggles. "Well, you had to admit, you would've said the same to me."

"True," I shrug. I spot the stairs ahead. "Got to go."

I end the call and walk for the steps, Nana and Quartz still in their eggs, in my left hand. I'm just glad they didn't get crushed! "Yo," Ikuto smirks at the sight of me. "What took you so long?"

"Friend went through a tunnel," I shrug.

He nods and walks over, grabbing my wrist. "Shall we?"

I blush. "O-Okay?"

He smirks and tugs me behind him. I must admit there are A LOT of performances in different areas. Someone is speaking in English and handing out English flyers. "Anyone?"

Either they are stupid or it's for the English people who come here at times. I walk over, jerking out of Ikuto's grasp, and walk up. "I'll take two."

The person smiles and hands two to me, so I walk back next to Ikuto. I don't notice he's reading over my shoulder until he actually speaks. "What the heck are you reading?"

I jump. "Uh…it's in English, you wouldn't understand it."

It's a flyer for an English Karaoke session tomorrow. Might be fun. Plus, I think I'll sign a little something for my DEAR, LOVABLE sister. **Oh Gd I'm gonna die. **XP! I smile maniacally and my phone rings. "I'll wait," Ikuto sighs as I run off.

"Yuki?" I ask.

"Okay, why the heck did you waste valuable time to pick up English Karaoke flyers?" she asks.

"Well I…wait…you speak English?"

"Well, yeah. It's not like you're the only person in Japan who knows the language, Maki."

I shrug. "Perfectly true."

"Second, who were you talking to?"

"Huh?"

"You said 'Dear, lovable, sister' to _someone _and I doubt it's Ikuto."

I sigh. Now I'm speaking out loud when I'm talking to Kaki? That's just crp. "'X' Negative thing, don't mind it."

"Yeah, mind it," she 'corrects'. "What if you speak out while you're near Kio?"

"I don't-"

There's screaming. I end the call and Nana and Quartz burst out of their eggs. "What was that?" Quartz wonders.

"Maki-san!" Nana whimpers. "There's a new presence!"

I nod and we race off to the soccer field, some HONKING HUGE MOTHER FCKER of an egg floating above some kid with a soccer jersey and regular shorts, who's a girl. The egg is deep crimson with a white question mark, a toothy grin sending chills up my spine. "What the fck?" I mutter. "Hey! Stop it!"

The egg hovers higher and the mouth opens up to black and purple fog swirling inside. Then it does something I never thought an egg would do…IT EATS THE PERSON! CANNIBAL EGGS! WE'RE ALL GONNA-**CHILL OUT DUDE! LOOK! **I shake out of it and gasp as the mouth closes and it cracks, the person exploding out of the egg into a character transformation. "Character Transformation: Soccer Dream!"

"Oh how original," I mutter. "Nana!"

"Right!"

She eggs herself and flies into me. "My heart: Unlock! Character Transformation: Rose Positive!"

The pendant appears and my clothes melt into Nana's. "My heart: Unlock!" I turn to see Yuki, black cat ears sticking up from the slightly longer yellow hair, a black tail with a white tip, a pink dress the exact same as Annie's (well, mid-thigh), and pink gloves on each hand, pink bands on each upper arm. I can only hear 'Character Transformation' and nothing else but the gush of blood in my ears as a soccer ball slams into my chest and pushes me into a tree. "Maki!"

"I'm alright!" I grunt, lying obviously. "Just what is that thing?"

"It's a ? egg," Tadase explains. "My heart: Unlock! Character Transformation: Platinum Royale!"

You know I think we Character Bearers waste _more _time saying the name of the transformation than we can afford. A bat, and I mean a _steel baseball bat_, speeds for my skull and I'm TOO STUPID to move, so Yuki runs in front of me, catching the base-ball bat before it crushes my skull and brains into a head smoothie. "Hurry!" she says.

I scramble to my feet and a lavender javelin appears in my hand. I toss it and light streams after it, the thing snapping in half and the upper half going in vertical circles around her and the lower in horizontal circles. "Light Batons of the Javelin!" Nana forces out of my mouth. I turn. "Really?"

"_What? It's required in these things._"

I roll my eyes and jump up, the circles actually _encasing _the girl in place. The batons fly into my hand and I form and 'X' with them in front of my heart. I raise them above my head and slash down, managing to start plunging to the ground and the 'X' to make it stop completely, the girl struggling. Amu appears as Amulet Heart and pants. WHERE WAS SHE ALL THIS TIME? "Hey! Is this what you call sportsmanship? You're just hurting people!"

"NO!" I scream. "SHE'S HURTING ME! AS IN ONE PERSON!"

Kaki lands next to Amu in Hidu's clothes. Figures. "Yo!" she calls up. "You don't go controlling sports equipment JUST to show you can do something!" The girl blinks down at Kaki. "If you want to show someone that you can do something, grow a fcking gut or two and get out on the field!"

Man is she comforting. "But…" an 'X' forms on the girls head and a ghostly image of an 'X' egg surrounds her. Amu forms a heart around some lock. "Negative heart: Lock on! Open heart!"

A glow appears and next thing you know, she's falling. I sprint up and catch her, making a mental note of any injuries. I hear a slight growl and gulp, turning to two VERY PSSED BOYS glaring at ME. I set the girl down and see Nana undid the transformation before the growl. Jeez. "U-Uh…"

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto!" Tadase gasps.

"Ma," Kio blinks, "what's he doing here?" He points to Ikuto.

I laugh nervously and Yuki steps up. "Okay, don't be so hard on her!" she defends. "Do you really think she's done this before? Okay, she promised Ikuto something, but she NEVER got the date until it was too late and she didn't want to hurt you guys by breaking it off! What did you expect her to do?"

"Dig a deep hole and hide?" Amu suggests **(A.N: That goes to Dayfeather)**

Jeez that's helpful. "Yeah, okay…" Yuki blinks. "Anyways, so technically it's YOUR faults for A) not telling her the freaking date and B) doing a last minute schedule!"

I stand next to Yuki, elbows looped. "I go with her!" I smile, laughing nervously all the way through while pointing a shaking finger at her.

"Come on," she huffs. "Amu, do you want to go shopping with us?"

"Sure!" she smiles. "Bye guys!"

"Wait, what about…" I roll my hand until Yuki gets it and tosses Yoru over to Ikuto.

"WHAT THE FCK?" he screams. "What did you use?"

I toss him a chisel. "Super glue is the best," I shrug.

Annie pokes Nana and Quartz's eggs and they pop out, all six Characters (Ran, Miki, Su, remember?) talking and flying next to our heads. Cat ears and a tail appear on Yuki and next thing you know…"What are you doing?"

"Drawing."

"But why did you chose to draw on my face?"

She shrugs. Curse you Annie. **Actually…XP! **I turn to see Kaki come up with about five bucks in hand. What a lovable sister.

**A.N: Sorry about the long post time! **

**Okay, poll (the first was for –(pick up) My friend…together we shall rule the world! Which I want to know who said that so I can arrange a duel with Tadase (what?)) PLEASE TAKE IT! I'm lonely :( (FEBRUARY FOOLS!) (my own holiday XD)**

**To be honest, I wrote this end part on the day of the Super Bowl in America (since who knows who's foreign or not?) and I ALWAYS get loaded on deviled eggs, cookies, and various junk food then.**

**Warning: Next chapter, Ikuto shows his feelings! (in a very…odd…uncharacteristic…way)**

**Something to think about: So you're a friend of Kaki's and Maki's. You're invited to a party, yet you can only invite one person. What would you do? (I'd ditch and do something with the both of them). **

**THIS STORY HAS THE MOST REVIEWS OUT OF ALL TWENTY…something…OF MY STORIES! WHOOP! **


	16. Raise Your Glass

**NOTE: YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 16_

**Raise Your Glass!**

"STOP DRAWING ON ME!" I snap at Annie, now drawing on my knee.

She giggles and pockets the mini-pencil (wherever I find a Guardian Character art supply shop, I'm destroying the place thanks to Annie here). It's the next night (yippee) and I'm in Kaki's room, the walls black, the carpet blood red (vampire), and the bed simple with black sheets and red pillows with black crosses decorating them, the window curtains blood red and most of her closet black, red, suffocating blue, and choking purple. Honestly I said she had problems, but then she argued that I tried to commit suicide, then I told her technically SHE did, but since when does she listen to anyone but herself? Yuki is of course next to me, also drawing on me since she's in a character change, but I can't snap at her, she's drawing a gun on my upper arm. I need stuff like that to scare off Ikuto, not flowers! I lick my index finger and rub madly at the knee to get the lily off.

"Hey sis," Kaki calls to my attention. "Should I wear this to the Karaoke session," she holds up a deep purple dress with spaghetti straps and a black trim at the bottom, "or this," she holds up a blood red tube top.

"Tube top," I pick, once again licking my finger and rubbing at the lily.

She nods and places that on a (blood red) chair. She shovels through the closet for something to go and I check my cell phone for messages. There is one from Tadase, so I click on it.

**From: Tadase**

**To: Maki**

**RE: Tsukiyomi Ikuto**

**Don't worry about Tsukiyomi. He won't be bothering you anymore :)**

My jaw drops. I rapidly text Amu.

**From: Maki**

**To: Amu**

**RE: MURDER!**

**OMG! TADASE MURDERED IKUTO!**

"Hey, which?" Kaki lifts up a black ruffle skirt to the mid-thigh (what Japanese skirt doesn't?) and baggy black pants that you'd see on a rapper.

"Pants!" I rush. The phone beeps and I look down.

**From: Amu**

**To: Maki**

**RE: Don't be ridiculous**

**IKUTO IS RIGHT HERE!**

**From: Maki**

**To: Amu**

**RE: STUF YOUR NOT HELPING!**

**I'M SERIOUS! TADASE-**

**From: Amu**

**To: Maki**

**RE: -_-;**

**Dude, he just said to stay away.**

I blink at the screen. "Oh," I blink.

"What?" Yuki asks, the ears and tail disappearing (THANK YOU GOD!).

"I thought Tadase murdered Ikuto," I simply state, shoving the phone away.

"Why?" she raises a brow.

"Easy, he sent me a very misunderstanding message."

"YO!" Kaki groans. I turn to see her holding up a black headband and black 'X' clips, a tiny Hidu like top-hat in the same hand.

"Depends," Yuki points the highlighter at her. "If you're going for a punk look, the clips and the hat, if you're going for that nice Emo look, the headband."

Kaki nods and sets the clips and hat on the shirt (tells you something about her huh?). Yuki's phone rings and she looks at it. Next thing you know my ear's are bleeding. "WHAT?" Kaki yells, also covering her ears.

"It's Nick!" she cheers.

Kaki and I blink. "Wha?"

"Nick Williams!" she repeats (well, not the Williams part). "He's my boyfriend from America! He's going to the Karaoke session!"

"Oh, so you had to make me deaf for that?" I snap.

"You heard me didn't you?" she giggles.

Annie, Hidu, Cassie, Nana, and Quartz are all sitting on the edge of the nightstand, all of them playing Pictionary for some odd reason. The funny part is that they're too easy to guess, but they can't guess it right (well, Hidu cheats, but why would you need to cheat?). "Okay," Kaki sighs, holding up a pair of red flats and red high heels. I point to the high heels. "Okay," she repeats, holding up _black combat boots _(shouldn't be surprised, but talk about sudden change!) and I point to the combat boots, since she IS going for the punk look. She nods and sets it next to the chair. "Get out so I can change."

The Characters (save Hidu and Cassie), Yuki, and I all walk out and I look down at my navy blue dress that goes mid-thigh without a back and the black pantyhose with the feet going into the black combat boots (yeah, so we both have combat boots, so what?). My silver chain is on my neck (as always) and I have a black veil on my head, being held by a navy head band (originally typed as nay [is that a color?]). Yuki has a brown skirt and the pink tube top, brown flats and a ocean colored headband. She has a small bracelet with a wooden cat and a rose charm, but that's pretty much it.

Kaki comes out a little later, indeed looking like an Emo Punk, and I look at the clock on the wall. "We should get going," Yuki observes.

I nod and we run out, but not before my cell beeps and I whip it out to check a new message.

**From: Ikuto**

**To: Maki**

**RE:**

**You were worried about me huh? :3**

Again, he BETTER mean 'cat'.

_Get away_

"NICK!"

Yuki tackles some tan guy with silver-white and he has green eyes. He's wearing a gray jacket and a blue T-shirt underneath, jeans and regular sky-blue sneakers. He has a Character with him, a little boy Character with a green T-shirt, a white belt, tiny jeans, and white sneakers, one of those sky-blue…uh…what are those caps that you just slide over your head? Let's just call it a Bobby cap, since I don't now (this is the girl who can't remember what bar-seats are called!). He has blue headphones over the 'Bobby cap' and little blue eyes. He's tackled by Annie.

"NATE!"

Kaki and I just blink at the scene. Nick pats Yuki's back. "Nice to see you, GF."

Yuki giggles and turns to Kaki, who's gagging, and me, who's red with envy that she already has a boyfriend. "Well come on!"

We sigh and walk in. Some guy comes up to us, holding out a list. "Do you want to sing? It's early, so we don't have anyone yet."

I look at the blank sheet and shrug. I put my name down and write the PERFECT song for Kaki. She shakes her head and the guy walks off. We wait a bit for the Karaoke to start and eventually, it does. "Okay," some teen with a bellybutton piercing and nose piercing, a purple mini tube top, SUPER short jean shorts, and purple highs announces. "First up, we have Maki!"

People clap and I walk up, taking the microphone and my Characters next to my head. "Hello," I blink, gulping. "I-I'll be singing 'Raise Your Glass' by P!nk. This is dedicated to my sister Kaki."

I wait for the beat and smile, nodding my head to it.

"_Right, right, turn off the lights_

_We gonna lose our minds tonight_

_What's the deal, yo?_

_I love when it's all too much_

_5AM turn the radio up_

_Where's the rock and roll?_

_Party crasher, penny snatcher! _

_Call me up if you want gangster! _

_Don't be fancy, just get dancy!_

_Why so serious?_

_So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways, all my underdogs!_

_We will never be, never be anything but loud and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks!_

_Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass! _

_Just come on and come on and raise your glass!_

_Slam, slam oh hot dmn_

_What part of party don't you understand?_

_Wish you'd just freak out!_

_(Freak out already)_

_Can't stop, coming in hot_

_I should be locked up right on the spot_

_It's so on right now_

_(It's so fcking on right now)_

_Party crasher, penny snatcher!_

_Call me up if you want gangster!_

_Don't be fancy, just get dancy!_

_Why so serious?_

_So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways, all my underdogs!_

_We will never be, never be anything but loud and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks!_

_Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass! _

_Just come on and come on and raise your glass!_

_Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass! _

_Just come on and come on and raise your glass!_

_(Oh sht my glass is empty. That sucks!)_

_So if you're too school for cool and your treated like a fool_

_(Treated like a fool)_

_You can choose to let it go_

_We can always, we can always…_

_Party on our own…_

_So raise your!_

_(Aw fck!)_

_So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways, all my underdogs!_

_We will never be, never be anything but loud and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks! _

_SO RAISE YOUR!_

_So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways, all my underdogs!_

_We will never be, never be anything but loud and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks!_

_Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass!_

_Just come on and come on and raise your glass!_

_Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass (for me)!_

_Just come on and come on and raise your glass!_

_For me!"_

The people cheer and I hand the person the microphone, running off stage (yes, off it by the front of it), jumping onto the ground and Kaki catching me in a bear hug. "THANK YOU!" she laughs, me not so much.

"CAN'T! BREATHE!"

"WHO CARES?" she laughs.

"ME!"

She laughs even more and lets go. Jeez I…I've never seen her this happy. She drags me over to a drink table and hands me some Dr. Pepper, raising her can into the air and dumping it into her mouth, only splashing it on her chin partially. I laugh and look around. That's when a familiar sky-blue violin case catches my eye. "What the?" Kaki asks.

"What's he doing at an ENGLISH Karaoke session?" I ask her.

"How should I know?" she sighs.

Ikuto pops his head out and waves to me. "Come here," he mouths with a smile.

I bite my lip and Kaki leans next to my ear. "Go talk to him, sis."

I look at her as if she grew two heads (which she probably did, one with my sister and one with some whack job second personality!). "WHAT THE FCK HAPPENED TO KAKI?" I demand.

She rolls her eyes and points the hand with the Dr. Pepper can towards him. "Go, or no huggsies."

I smile. "That actually-"

Now she's PUSHING me. "GO! NOW!"

"FINE!" I groan, walking for Ikuto on my (sort of) own will. "Hey, Ikuto."

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he leans down, not really smirking, but smiling kindly.

"U-Uh sure," I blush at the closeness.

He takes my wrist and he leads me off onto the grounds of the vicinity, onto a bench (on my butt, not back thankfully) and he sits down next to me, smiling at me. "Hey Maki," he calls my attention. I look up at him instead of the ground, "do you really like this Kio guy?"

I raise a brow and nod, his smile saddening. "Why?" I ask.

He chuckles softly. "Just wanted to check…" he looks up at the sky. "You know, you're hard to win."

"W-Win?" I scoot away.

He chuckles more. "Yes…win." He leans close and cups my left cheek, my blush Mars colored. "You know Maki, I just want you to know…" he leans next to my ear, but not at licking distance. "I'll always be the one who loves you, I won't go back on you…not anymore at least."

I stare at him as he leans back and stares up at the stars. "What alcohol have you been on?" I wonder.

His smile is still partially sad, but it's there, none of the less. "None."

I gasp and look at the ground. He hasn't been calling me 'my little kitten', hasn't licked my ear, is HONEST…wait…ugh…I look up at the sky. "This is complicated sht," I mutter.

"Hey Maki?" Ikuto calls my attention again.

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor, genius."

He chuckles softly, sadly once again. "When you can…when you actually make a final decision…can you tell me who it is? I want to at least know who you're choosing to be with."

"There are more opportunities," I snap. "I'm probably not going to date just one guy in my life."

"Yes but…" he stands, his eyes hidden. "I'm not going to be a second."

He walks away, clutching the violin case strap. I blink after him. "Ikuto!"

He turns and smiles. "Like I said. I love you, I always will, but once you make you're choice…I'll understand."

He turns again and completely walks off. I blink and hug my ribs. "Jeez…"

"Oh and…raise your glass, Maki!"

I look up to see him walking away, but holding some soda can up high in the air. I smile and raise my Dr. Pepper up. "Raise your glass Ikuto!"

I'm stuck here, blushing. I think about Kio, I think about Ikuto, why I'm considering and been considering now full on clear. I smile. I know who I'm choosing. My phone rings and I pick it out.

**From: Mack**

**To: Maki**

**RE: Bad news **(what everyone wants to see)

**Okay, after a LOT of research, I have some crppy news…a boy and that girl I new both died from SORROW after they got hit with an attack made by an 'X' Character. I looked at the blood over and over and…**

…**let's just say you have maybe a month to live.**

**A.N: DUH! DUH! DUN!**

**POLL! **

**REVIEW! **

**STILL FIRST! **

**CHECK OUT OTHER STORIES (this isn't the only one peoples).**

**SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: You're Maki and you just read that. What's the first thing you do? (I'd freak out and ram into a tree).**

**SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER (Maki might not)!**


	17. Mina

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 17_

**Mina**

I bite my lip. Okay, so I'm going to die in about a month. Not a problem…that's why I'm digging a hole deep in the park **(A.N: Dayfeather)** and planning to just die there. Thankfully I put duct tape around my head, and so far Kaki hasn't gotten in (I'M A SCIENTIST!). Eh, it's been ten hours, haven't slept, never went home (hate Kaki for not at least looking for me), and now I swear I'm seeing Level E Vampires from Vampire Knight (okay, so I _slightly _hallucinate Zero shooting their brains out…). "What 'cha doing?"

I pause and look over to Yuki, her hair's in a ponytail, she's wearing a pink shirt with a cat paw in the middle (doesn't take long to figure out the 'why' and 'what' and 'how' and 'when' and 'who' and the 'where') and the brown pants from our first encounter. Annie is hovering in the air next to her one minute, then drawing on a leaf up in a tree. I roll my eyes and balance myself on the shovel. "What does it look like?"

"Okay, _why _are you digging a hole?" she corrects herself.

"Easy, I'm gonna DIE IN A MONTH!"

_Get away_

You'd think I'd be the worse to freak out, yet you don't see me ramming into trees, screaming at the top of my lungs, and practically ripping out chunks of my hair, now do you? Of course you don't, this thing doesn't have pictures (someone start a petition to put pictures!). Yet again, if I put pictures, the 'Yuki' portion would just be blurs. Annie is staring along with me and Nana and Quartz (no, didn't forget them (they're just really silent a lot)) are worried as heck, so they're silent (as usual and put). "Maki-cha…" Quartz sighs.

"WHAT THE *CENSOR* (you don't want to know peoples)? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! CAN'T WE JUST RIP THE MOTHER FCKING HUMPER OUT?"

"NO!" I scream. "THAT'D KILL ME FASTER!"

She sighs and falls on her butt, so I sit next to her. "What are we going to do?" she groans. "I don't want you to die!"

"Why, cause you're not done drawing on me?" I chuckle.

She doesn't appreciate the humor. "No! It's because you're my friend, Maki!"

I smile. "Gee thanks…but I'm sorry to say I was doomed to die soon anyways…"

"Why do you say that?" she snaps, tears sort of brimming in her eyes.

I huff. "There's this company called Easter. They went after me once, I don't doubt they'll try again…**(A.N: Can't be mean, but HINT, HINT, HINT)**."

She stands. "I don't care, we're finding a way to solve this."

"How do you figure that?"

"Let's walk and talk. Maybe a simple phone call with this Mack dude can make him realize there's a way."

She heaves me up and I look down a sand path. "Let's go there, okay?"

She nods and we start traveling 'the road less traveled by' (hey, I'm dying, so I'm going to get my jokes out). I snatch out my phone and dial Mack's number, putting it on speaker phone out of sheer knowing Yuki. It rings a bit. "Hello?" I hear Mack greet.

"Who is it Mack?" I hear Kaki in the background.

"IT'S MAKI!" I scream, making _something _crash to the ground.

"This is Yuki!" Yuki yells. "What the fck are you doing saying she's going to die in a month?"

"Easy, if we can't find something in time, she is," Mack sighs. "I'm working on it as BEST as I can! All you can do now is help Maki relax! The more relaxed, the most likely it'll be delayed!"

"Nothing else?" I ask.

"I'm afraid so, unless you can hire professional scientists somehow."

"Hey Maki," Kaki sighs. "You're going to live, trust me."

"How can you be so sure?" Mack asks.

"Because she's my sister, I'm NOT letting some stupid disease-"

"Girl," I interrupt.

All is silent and Yuki stops walking. "What?" Mack states.

"SORROW is some girl in my head," I inform. "She's a complete psycho by the looks of it. She had four eggs."

"Four?"

"Two for the boy, and two for your friend. She had the roses, right?"

"Y-Yeah…that helps a bit."

"Why say that?" Yuki wonders.

"Well, if it's not a simple disease, finding a _cure _won't help," Kaki explains. "Maybe…maybe we have to separate Sorrow from Maki!"

"Won't that hurt?" Nana blinks, eyes innocent as if she was Quartz instead.

Annie is clutching to Yuki's shoulder (drawing on the sleeve) and Quartz is next to Nana, both now at the speaker. "Probably," Mack heaves, "but it's worth a shot."

"_Your connection has been disabled," _an operator announces.

"What?" Yuki throws up her arms. "That's just crp!"

"Well, what do you ex…wait…are we lost?"

She looks around. "Yep, probably."

"It's either we are or aren't Yuki, not in between."

"Well, then the answer is a yes."

I curse and I hear someone crying. Yuki and I exchange glances and drag out feet (just to fill the quite [can't have her speaking jibberish again]) near to the crying. "It's useless…I can't be an explorer if I get lost!"

"Fck, this can't be good," I whisper.

Purple light shines and we run, our feet slamming the ground, to an area. A young boy, maybe eight, has lifeless eyes staring off into nothing, purple light shooting up and an 'X' egg appearing. "Impossible, impossible!" it cries.

"Oh this reminds me of my first 'X' egg…" Yuki mutters.

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

It soars for us and we jump the fck out of dodge when it tries to attack. "Nana!"

"Yes!"

"My heart: Unlock! Character Transformation: Rose Positive!"

"My heart: Unlock! Character Transformation: Eternal Rose!"

Oh…so _that's _what her transformation is called! I take out the 'Light Batons of the Javelin' and thankfully Nana doesn't make me blurt. "Rose Scythe! Oh really Annie?"

I turn to see Yuki in her Character Transformation: Eternal Rose, holding a GIANT (not worldwide GIANT; that's only in the Elfen Lied Manga) scythe with a green stem for a handle and this rose thorn as the blade (fits the character eh?). She smirks evilly and we jump up. She whacks it each time she gets close and I toss the batons, but moving targets are EXTREMELY harder to hit. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE HELLION!" Yuki cries.

MEYOW! Talk about a fighter! I giggle and chuck the batons once more. "HEY!"

Stupid thing falls for it and the batons capture it. They fly into my hands and I form the 'X', raise it above my head, and slash, falling to the ground as the 'X' egg screams and whitens (not the teeth whitening people). Although the 'X' is slightly there still and it turns black all over again. I crash into the ground. "Maki! Oh you're going to pay, little BSTARD!"

Yuki flies up and whacks it, stunning it (like I didn't stun it enough already) and managing to grab it, tearing the 'X' right off (o) and the thing purifying for good, flying off. I feel my stomach jerk and I hack up some blood and blood clots, something painful etching into my back. It's definitely not an 'X' I can tell you that. "Jeez…"

Yuki comes down and helps me up. The Character Transformations are undone. "Are you okay?"

I nod weakly. "You were very…creative…with your solution, may I say that."

"Aw…thank-"

Something in her pants pocket jerks around and shoots out. It's the other egg. It rattles and explodes (no, I mean like opens up rapidly [gosh you people are violent]). The opening reveals a little girl Character (I've been noticing a gender gets the same gender Guardian Character…what if they dream about being the opposite sex?) with a small crown (NOT ANOTHER KISEKI!) that has a small paintbrush and a microphone forming an 'X', blonde wavy hair held back with a pink bow, blue big eyes (okay, all Guardian Characters have big eyes and are vampire pale, let's face it (oh, and stupid)), a multi-color cape, a pink dress with short, puffy sleeves with blue lining at the bottom of the dress and blue socks (DO THESE GUYS EVER WHERE SHOES? Oh yeah, Nana and Quartz do). "Hello! I'm the Queen Mina! Bow to my paintbrush!"

She makes a little paintbrush appear and holds it up like a royal scepter. Nana, Quartz, and Annie fly around her, eyes wide with curiosity. "She's like me!" Quartz giggles.

"Am not! I'm not a mere commoner!" Mina squeaks (or huffs, you decide people).

Yuki smiles and waves kindly. "Hi, I'm Yuki!"

"Ah, you're my ally!" she smiles. She turns to me. "You?"

"Ally," I blink. "I'm friends with her, it's not like I'm going to be rivals with her Guardian Characters."

"Wise enough!" she cheers. "Annie!"

"Yes?"

Bets? Bets? Okay, here's the next thing you'll hear. "STOP DRAWING ON MY CROWN!"

**A.N: Short chapter, yeah, but it's late, my back hurts, and tomorrow's MONDAY. Which therefore means I have to WORK for…eight to four approx. Yeah, it SUCKS. Anyways…**

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**SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: You have a Guardian Character egg you're keeping a secret. Ikuto walks by and he 'catches the scent of birth'. He walks up to you. "Hey, why do you smell like birth?" What do you say/do? (Take out pistol, shoot).**

**SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER!**


	18. Passy and Confessing

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 18_

**Passy and Confessing**

Mommy and Kip are eating silently across from Kaki and I. Kaki got home a BIT later than usual due to hanging out with Mack (A.K.A-we can't tell Mommy or we're dead instantly). I, of course, spent FOREVER trying to get out of the trees with Yuki and she had to speed off to see Nick and Nate. I munch on the Tuna Casserole and the fish won't make me forget what Ikuto asked of me hours ago (not a day). _**"When you can…when you actually make a final decision…can you tell me who it is? I want to at least know who you're choosing to be with." **_Now that I think about it…how did he know that the song had 'Raise your glass' in it over and over? I blink and shrug it off, stuffing the last of dinner into my mouth and walking over to the sink in the kitchen to rinse it thoroughly. I run upstairs and lean against the door. I sigh with MUCH fatigue and I hear my cell beep. I take it out and scream, Nana and Quartz bursting from the house to look at the cell, now on the phone, having been dropped by a trembling hand.

**From: Old Classmate Passy **

**To: Maki**

**Hey 'Stalker of the Night's slut, how's it? Sucking on his dck?**

"Maki…" Nana gasps.

"You need to tell Mommy," Quartz says.

"Maki!" Kaki calls, her footsteps loud and clear. "What is it?"

"N-Nothing! Just my period!"

I slap myself. I REALLY need to find a better-excuse book (tell me where I can find one). I'm dying in a month…and we're back to this fcking sht.

_Get away_

I ring the door bell of Yuki's house. A woman opens the door. "Hello!" she smiles. "You must be Yuki's friend. Please come in!"

I walk in and Yuki walks down, her hair in a ponytail once more and a purple T-shirt on with the brown skirt, the brown flats on once again. "Oh hi! Knew you'd come!" she greets. "Come on up to my room!"

I smile and run up behind her, entering through a door and raising a brow at the dark purple paint and dark wood flooring. Several (okay, fck it, A LOT) of Halloween decorations were scattered around (insert edging away from jack n' the box toy). "Wow…I'm certainly glad this was before you met Kaki," I mutter.

She laughs. "Yeah, that would be creepy. Want to sit?"

I shake my head. "To be honest…" I lean in slightly, eyeing any chair, "I think the chairs might eat me."

She rolls her eyes. "The only thing that could possibly eat you is me, and I doubt you taste good."

I scowl. "Okay, that's a little insulting."

She shrugs. "Look on the bright side, monsters won't eat you."

I nod and sit down anyways, yelping and jumping up, looking at my butt to see a mouse trap. "OWW!"

"Oh, sorry," she apologizes, managing to get it off. "That was for Nick."

"Your boyfriend?" I blink.

She shrugs. "He's a pervert."

"An Ikuto clone?" I suggest.

She nods. "Fairly possible. Now, any reason yo-"

I hold the phone up to her face. "Look at that."

She looks, which is why I duck under the bed a few seconds later. "Jeez!" she groans (after ripping out hair and running around unsuccessfully for a minute). "Why are girls in schools always such Douche bags?"

"Amu isn't, Rima isn't, Yaya isn't," I point out.

"True, but I mean all those snotty girls who think they have it all," she shrugs. "To be truthful, people called _me _the slut for 'sitting in Nick's lap' and sht like that. Honestly it WAS his fault…"

I sigh and crawl out of under the bed (nervously since I think there's something down there). "Well, we could," I laugh maniacally, "pay her a visit, if you know what I mean."

Randomly, Kaki bursts through. "Who we pebbling?" she demands. We blink at her. "What? Okay, so I Character Changed with Hidu to get here!"

"Yeah but…"

"Brass Knuckles?"

Kaki glances at the two fists with brass knuckles. She spreads them while her face tells us we should've known this. "Dude, Hidu's my dream to _fight dirty_. Brass knuckles aren't really fair and I swear I have a Uzi somewhere…"

"DON'T TAKE IT OUT!"

She shrugs at our exclamation. "Just sayin'. So, like said, who's we pebbling?"

"We're just TALKING," Yuki snaps at both evil minds before her (hey, I don't care what she says, I'm sneaking eels down Passy's throat), "to her, understand?"

"But you really want to pebble her," I point.

She shakes her head. "No."

"Hello subjects!" Mina greets.

I groan. "ANNIE!"

"SORRY!"

I lick my fingers and wipe at my upper arm. "JEEZ! OUT OF ALL TIMES YOU HAD TO DRAW A RABBIT!"

"Bunny."

"SHUT UP!"

_Get away_

Out of all honesty, I might be enemies with Annie. I mean seriously I'm like a frigging ART CANVAS to her, not a living person! I sigh and Yuki, Kaki (brass knuckles off thankfully), and I walk up the front steps of Passy's house (indeed having to take several cheap cabs and two buses to GET here). Kaki slams her fist sideways onto the doorbell and a young woman opens it up, smiling down at us like 'I want to be nice so people don't think I'm a whore' and that sht. "Why, hello!" she squeals (must know Toa's mom).

"H-Hi…" I manage.

"Is your daughter, Passy, at home?" Yuki wonders (straight forward, nice).

"Oh yes…PASSY!"

Excuse me while I get new ears, since these have been exploding in and fcking out. Kaki? **Got it. Okay, so this Passy chick (that of which I SO prefer to kick her as right now) comes down and smiles with the recognition of none other than MY twin. "Hey! It's Stalker of the Night's GF!"**

"**Who the fck?" I blink. Exchanging looks with Yuki didn't solve anything of much, just that Passy is crazy. We enter and I raise a brow at the…colorful…interior. "Who's been barfing up rainbows?"**

"**Nobody!" Passy laughs. "So, are you two Maki's friends?"**

**As you might of guessed, Maki is frozen, so I'm pushing her along. "Twin," I correct. "Blondie is the friend."**

"**I have a name," Yuki sighs.**

"**Yeah, it's Blondie," I roll my eyes. That's really a DUH, don't 'cha think? "Anyways, I know about that little text you sent my twin."**

**She went moon pale. "W-What text?"**

"**Dude, if you're gonna stutter, there's no point to this," I sigh. "Look, just back off, or…" Hidu, in the little house on my sisters back (okay, we're not recording every time she wears it people!), makes the brass knuckles appear, "you're brains are splattering against the pavement, got that?"**

"**Kaki!" Yuki gasps.**

"**It's the truth!" I snap. "I'm sick n' tired of this sht! It happened ever since we was seven, and they need to stop acting like complete and utter dck heads, otherwise they have no use in this world but to be called a nuisance!"**

I shake my head back to reality after convincing myself the churning of my stomach was some bad tuna last night (of course it was last night people!), and see Kaki arguing with Yuki, Passy clutching her head, and pretty much a room door behind her opening. "Hello Pa-who the fck are the Emo twins?"

"THAT'S IT!" Kaki and Yuki growl.

They charge after the girls. I gulp and stand. "Quartz!" Nothing. "QUARTZITE!"

"It's Quartz!" she shoots out of the house.

"Character Change!" I snap.

"Yes!"

The note appears and a flute materializes. I huff and play a soft lullaby. To be honest I didn't expect the whole room (save me) to pass out. Kaki is sucking on a brass knuckles and Yuki is muttering in her sleep (probably to fill the silence). I huff and the Character Change is undone. Passy is the first to wake up, which she glares at me. "What the hll? Why attack me in my own home?"

"I didn't!" I snap. "They did and I don't control their lives! Now listen up, you fcking btch, I'm sick n' tired of this crp that keeps coming out. Who the fck is this Stalker of the Night anyway? Seen him twice and that's the end, so you got to keep it living, well guess what? It's been a little over a year, and you're STILL btching about it? Who _does _that? I mean do you _want _to be a friendless hore when you grow up living on nothing but carrot soup and you're mom's handed down money since she died from alcoholic use?"

She's red in the face and does something I NEVER expected to make a girl do; cry. She actually has a heart in order to _cry_. I mean this is news to me! "Shut up! Just get out of here and take you're fcking sister wi-"

I punch her clear in the face. "Don't talk about my sister like that! She's better than you! Better than all of you to be precise! If anything, that's how you should be describing _your ugly self!_"

I kick Kaki in the ribs (lightly) and nudge Yuki, who wake up and I storm out, them following. At least they're smart enough to know when to not talk. I faintly smile. Annie is trying to make me better…

…by drawing 'it'll be okay' on the back of my hand with Mina, Nana, and Quartz.

_Get away_

Flat on the bed, the sheets spread out randomly on my body, eyes lifeless, letter opener in hand, yep, back to the usual drill. And for those jack ases, no, I'm not_ dead_, you couldn't be _reading _this if that was the case! No, I'm carving stuff into myself. Some are 'hope' on my knee, 'love' on my lower left ribs, and 'what the fck is with the clouds?' on my back (very difficult, requires several mirrors). My cell rings, so I let the bloody letter opener drop to the carpet and pluck it up. "Yellow?"

"It's a color."

I smile at Kio's voice. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Good, I just wanted to ask if you uh…had a…boyfriend yet."

My eyes widen and I bite my lower lip yet. "Not yet."

"Well…do you want one?"

I sigh and stare at the ceiling. Nana and Quartz fly above my head, staring as if they should know the answer by now. Well…I giggle softly. "Yes but…"

"But what?"

I laugh. "I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous to say this…"

"It's okay, I have all night…Ma."

I smile kindly. "Well…it's not you."

I end the call and whip on my American baseball cap, opening the window and leaping out, my footsteps running hard on the streets. Sure the cuts sting, but I'm happy. I know my answer now, and I always knew, I just wouldn't admit it. I laugh at myself for stubbornness and sooner or later I'm surrounded by people, the shopping square actually larger than you'd think. I dash for the Pet Shop (now why do you think?) and look around before running in. All that crp in school…Passy…I'm not the Maki Kia you knew before, I'm a Maki Kia who can see the world just in one second. I can see myself. I know what you're thinking. 'Aw…what the fck happened to the story? It's ruined since someone FCKING GOT A SENSE OR TWO!' Well suck it in my opinion. Life is life, not what everyone wants it to be. Got a problem with that? Lock yourself in your room all day and drink pss. I skid in front of the cat section and gap. Okay, out of all things, I'd never see Yoru ALONE. I mean is Ikuto crazy or something (to those stupid peoples, yeah, I'm looking for Ikuto).

"Yoru?" I blink.

He turns. "Hey-nya! Look! Cat-nip-nya!"

I blink and he flies over with it, dropping it in my outstretched palm. Yeah, it's cat-nip…for a fcking record breaking cat in weight! "That's nice Yoru, now do you know where the pedophile is?"

Okay, I'm not doped on crack people. He points to the fish section and I laugh nervously, sweat dripping onto my forehead. You'd figure a cat-guy is in the fish section…that or flipping off German Shepherds. I walk (only have so much 'I'm in crack-loaded love' energy particles) to the designated area and, much to my amusement, Ikuto is staring at fish. I try to restrain the huge amounts of laughing, but let's just say Ikuto has the tail and cat ears, so it's just…I burst out laughing, earning Airport-worth stares (chapter three: sex doll comment). Ikuto turns, eyebrow raised, and he smiles at the sight of me, the ears and tail disappearing.

"Yo," he greets softly, walking over to my rolling (yeah, that bad) figure. "Something funny?"

"It's just…" I can't stop laughing.

"Sorry people, teen forced on crack," he excuses, lifting me onto his shoulder (been a while) and walking out of the pet shop, Yoru not far.

Nana and Quartz are laughing to, barely able to stop (just like me!). Ikuto sighs and pats my back with his left hand, the hand on the same arm clinging me to his shoulder. His right is in his pocket, I notice, so my laughing falters until it stops completely. That's when he stops walking altogether in front of an alley. "What did you stop for?" I raise a brow. "Mush, kitty, home is forward."

He chuckles. "I guess you completely forgot what I asked yesterday."

I freeze and look down at the ground, crossing my arms on his shoulder blade. "S-Shut up…I wouldn't forget something like that…"

"So, you just don't have an answer yet?"

I shake my head. "That's what I was why I was looking for you. I wanted to tell you the answer."

He sets me onto my feet and I slightly stumble until my back is against the alley wall (foreshadow: I'm getting raped tonight). He puts both hands in his pockets. "Okay, what is it?"

I sigh and twiddle my thumbs behind me. "Do you need a Character Change?" Quartz asks?

"No," I mouth at her. "Um…how do I say this…um…?"

"HURRY UP!" Nana screams in my ear.

"ALRIGHT!" I scream at them. "Jeez!"

Ikuto chuckles. "I don't think this is going to go well."

I shut my eyes and face the ground, reopening them and shifting around. "I love you, Ikuto."

"Ah well, I tried," he sighs. I raise a brow as he walks off. "See you around, maybe," he waves.

"Ikuto," I state.

"Uh…" Quartz and Nana exchange glances.

Yoru pokes Ikuto's cheek and whispers something. Ikuto nods and freezes, rapidly turning to me and next thing you know, he's clutching my upper arms, leaning ZA close to my face (five bucks my foreshadow is coming true). "What did you say?"

I gulp. "I-I love you…Ikuto."

Next thing you know, the back of my head smacks against the wall with heated pressure forced against my lips shoving it back. I grunt (opening my mouth) and _something _slips in behind the teeth (FIVE BUCKS PEOPLE!). I blink, completely _astounded _people go through this sht during confessions, and before I turn completely purple with the lack of oxygen, Ikuto takes back his…whatever (not saying a tongue, I refuse to say it)…and parts his lips with my own, panting like _he _just escaped _rape/force marriage_. "Thank you…" he whispers. "I promise…I'll protect you…I won't let you die…not now, not then…not ever…"

Something flashes and I shut my eyes. What the…Ikuto lets me go and I open one eye and gasp, ghost pale I just know it…

…Toa.

**A.N: YES! YES! WHOOP! KICK BUTT _AND _ROMANCE (in an odd sort of way)!**

**POLL! (PLEASE PEOPLE!)**

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**What was Toa doing there anyway? Does he have something to say? No, nobody owes Maki money.**

**Maki: -_-**

**Me: It's DA D'RUTH!**

**SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER!**


	19. Abduction

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 19_

**Abduction**

"T-Toa!" I cover my mouth.

Toa holds up a camera. "See? Stalker of the night."

I shake my head and stand up in front of the frozen Ikuto. "He's not! Where's the proof, huh?"

Toa holds out several photos and I snatch them, shifting through. They all look the same…just different places…

…and they all look like Ikuto.

I shake my head and throw them back to Toa. "You're wrong! It's NOT Ikuto! You can just go a-"

"Maki."

I freeze and turn to a rather peevish Ikuto. "Y-Yeah?" I gulp. Judging by his tone, he's NOT happy.

His eyes are hidden, what looks like fists in his pockets (GULP, DOUBLE GULP, TRIPLE GULP!). "You know this kid?" I nod. "Why's he here?"

"I don't know!" I snap. "Why should I?"

"You don't act all that surprised," he snaps.

I take a step back. "Ikuto, cut it out, okay? I had no idea Toa was going to be he-"

Toa grabs my wrist, so I turn to him. "Maki, if he's just going to accuse you, that means he doesn't really love you."

I jerk away. "Shut up! He loves me! He-"

"Said," Toa finishes. "Maki, this guy's a peeper, you know that right?"

"HE'S NOT!"

"Maki," he repeats. "People have seen him."

"Okay, how'd he get from ALL THE WAY THERE to ALL THE WAY HERE then, huh?" I yell. "Explain that to me, oh high and might ASHOLE!"

Toa keeps a brave face. "I must admit, doing what I did a year ago wasn't at all good, it was diabolical, but I'm here to fix that Maki."

I shake my head, my blue eyes feeling colder and colder by the second. "You're wrong! I don't care what you say, he's not some Peeping Tom! Sure he's a bit of a pervert, but that's it!"

"Oh, and just by that, you're proving my case," Toa snarls in that 'listen to me or someone's going to kill you' way. "Stop living in a fantasy and _come back to Earth_."

I turn to Ikuto. "Are you going to help or just stand there and let him lie about you like this?" I scream. "Come on!"

He's frozen in place. Toa rolls his eyes. "He just knows it's true, that's all."

I open my mouth to make a come back, but the words catch in my throat. My eyes widen and my mouth shuts partially, a tiny gap still remaining. This is just pressure…I have to calm down…otherwise…_**carnivore teeth…bloody…claws…**_I shake my head roughly and ball up patches in my fists. _Calm down, Maki. Calm down…_My stomach feels like it's twisting and I scowl up at Toa. I stiffen and drop my hands. "Toa, that picture you showed me…" He holds it up. I examine it to closer see some girl. I turn to Ikuto and hold it up. "Ikuto," I state, "is this true?"

"He's not going to tell you the truth!" Toa gasps. "He's going to lie so he can hurt you mo-"

"No." Ikuto looks up from the ground, his eyes brimming with tears. I gasp and take a step back, the threatened tears making every part of me freeze, even Sorrow and she's coldblooded. "The mere idea," he laughs maniacally, "that you'd think I'd stoop that low just shows that I fell in love with a girl WHO DOESN'T EXIST!"

My lungs shut, my eyes water, everything heats up. Toa takes a step forward. "I-"

"JUST SHUT IT YOU USELESS WHORE!" he screams, the tears crashing onto the ground below the three of us. "JUST FCKING SHUT IT!"

I grit my teeth, but I can't stop shaking…why? I shut my eyes, turn my head down for a minute, and throw my hands behind me. "I'M NOT A WHORE!"

"Oh, I'd like to hear you say that while you're sucking on KIO'S DCK!"

I open my eyes and something…something lines my arms. I open my mouth to fight back, but all voice is gone. The mouth hangs and my wide eyes just stare at nothing. "Maki-cha!" Nana and Quartz poke my face. "MAKI-CHA!"

_**I guess he didn't like that 'chick' remark, since next thing I know the chair is in pieces and the side of my face is throbbing with splinters.**_

_**He slaps me across the face. "Stupid!" he yells. **_

_**Ikuto jerks the bottle out of my hand and tosses it. "That's not you. You're better than that."**_

_**I stalk off and something smacks my head, making me fall forward and the boys laugh. "There you go, if it makes you happy." I raise my face and see it's the house. I smile with relief and open it, my heart shattering. Nana's egg is broken. I tremble and the boys just keep laughing. "What's wrong, huh? Not such a big girl now huh?"**_

_**"We need that data. After that, she's useless. Either bring her here, or we're bringing her here, got that Ikuto?" "Yes," Ikuto mumbles, walking out.**_

_**Ikuto wrestles Yoru out of my grasp, wincing nearly all that time. "Stop it! I'm sick of it!"**_

_**"Ikuto, stop crying and get her here!" "I'm not crying!" I hear Ikuto argue. I gasp slightly. W…What? "Look, we need that data from Maki Kia's X-Negative, so in the next hour, you will get it, or else." Betrayal…that B*STARD. I hear Ikuto slam his hands on the desk I saw the day of that sewer incident. "I AM NOT DOING IT! YOU CAN GO GET HER FOR ALL I CARE!" I can tell that means something bad. Something flies up next to my head and I turn to Nana and Quartz, the top of the bag I almost always keep by my side now open. "What are we going to do?" Quartz panics, circling my head. "Calm down!" Nana commands. "We need to find a way to find out if it's-" "It's him," I mouth. I grab the handle, Nana and Quartz panicking to high Heaven. I shove it open, the man and Ikuto both turning to me. Ikuto gasps and takes a step back. I just glare. "So Ikuto, this is why you had to watch me huh?"**_

_**"STOP IT!" he roars. "NO!" I scream. "YOU WANT DATA? YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FORCE IT YOU AS* HOLE! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! I WISH I NEVER MET YOU!" "Maki-san…" Nana whimpers. "GET OUT!" I scream, tears crashing. "GET OUT YOU MOTHER F*CKING B*STARD OF HE**!"**_

I grit my teeth until I feel one start to crack. This is just…he's still with them. Everything he's said…about not wanting to…it was all a lie…I'm such an idiot…I look down and the ground quakes, I sniffle and choke out a sob. I huff deeply.

I scream and ice shoots out all over the alley.

I won't stop screaming, the ice continuing to shoot out. I hear the slosh of blood and the chop of skin, the tear of clothes and the gasps of both, but that's it. My scream, my characters, my heart…all silent as night. Soon, everything else joins that silence. Nothing is right. This isn't what I wanted. He was the one who assumed, not me. I wanted him to tell Toa that Toa was wrong, that he didn't do those things…now? It wouldn't surprise me. Something digs into my back and I shut my mouth off, eyes staring hard at the ground. Ikuto…that liar. I glare up and I see Ikuto in between some ice spears, gasping at the sight of me. I don't know why, but despite what, I hate him for looking at me like that. After all…

…"**I'm just a useless whore."**

I shake my head and run off, Toa stuck in between two as well. I speed down the sidewalks, now abandoned, and I feel something cold rip at my heart, so I scream and fall to my knees, clutching my chest. Everything is tinted in red, blood, and black. I scream to the nothing, the nothing of this sht of a world. I fall flat to my face. I lie here for about an hour.

"MAKI!"

I weakly look up to see Kaki and Yuki running towards me. "G-Guys…g-get away…"

I'm not sure what's happening, but I think this is the breaking point, I think this is my end. "SHT!" Yuki curses. "Hasn't even been a month yet!" She starts tearing out her hair. "CRP! CRP! CRP! CRP!"

"Hold on!" Kaki heaves me up. "We'll get you to Mack, he should know what to do!"

I nod weakly as Yuki goes to support my other side. "MAKI!"

I turn limply to Nana and Quartz. Quartz hugs my nose. "Please live Maki! You're the best person we know!"

I pull off a small smile. "I'll try…"

"There is no try in this," Cassie raps, probably to less the tense. "There's do and don't. You ARE going to live."

Hidu nods. "We're beating Sorrow to dust."

"I will not loose a loyal subject today!" Mina cheers.

Annie's just writing lyrics to 'I'm Alive' by Becca all over my frosted arm. "T-Thanks guys…" I sigh and look down. None of this is Ikuto's fault…Sorrow's just controlling my emotions in this weak state. Nana tries to cheer me on to live with 'The Living Cheer' and Quartz is playing the trumpet to it. I smile.

Kaki huffs and groans. "MAN YOU'RE HEAVY!"

I laugh and something slams into her stomach. "Kaki!" I whisper.

I hear laughter and look up to a Question egg. "NOW?" Yuki complains. She sets me down. "Stay here!"

She runs off. "My heart: UNLOCK!" is the last I hear of her.

Kaki rubs her head. "Come on, we need to get you to Ma-"

"Not so fast," a gun cocks.

Kaki grabs the muzzle and slams it into the guys face, although more start to crowd and a truck swerves into view. Easter. "KAKI RUN!"

"No! I'm NOT leaving you behind, sis!" she scolds. "Hidu!"

Brass knuckles appear and she whips out a Uzi, jumping and shooting, but someone eventually restrains her. The Question Egg victim comes over and drops a gagged Yuki onto the roof of the truck, resulting in slamming her head. I wince and someone forces me up. I thrash and kick, despite the weakness and boiling temperature. "LET ME GO MOTHER FCK!"

"HEY!"

I gasp and turn to Ikuto. "IKUTO!"

"MAKI I'M SORRY!" he cries, trying to beat through the guards to get to me. "I'M SORRY!"

I try to say 'I forgive you', but life isn't like a happy movie, so I'm chucked into the truck at full velocity and my head smashes against the metal. I fall limp at the ground, Kaki and Yuki also thrown in. The door slams and my vision blurs. "Maki…" Kaki groans. "I'm sorry, man am I an as."

"Not your fault," I sigh, staring sadly at Yuki's unconscious form. "We're being abducted, not killed, so…"

"That's even worse.

"Yeah…" I glance at the door, even though it's mostly black now, "especially since Hidu, Mina, Annie, Cassie, Nana, and Quartz are all alone now."

**A.N: Okay, bad twist of events. Well, at least Maki snapped out of it for a bit.**

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**OTHER STORIES (I mean come on people…)!**

**Something to think about: You're surrounded and you're Kaki. You can either run, fight them off, or go 'X' Negative on them and kill them all, despite the possible hate. What do you choose?**

**Pray for Maki, Yuki, and Kaki (sorry xDemonChickx, but Yuki will get better, I promise!)**


	20. Lying For Comfort

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 20_

**Lying for Comfort**

I'm in a dark, closed off room. There's a single bed with one white sheet, one (stone) white pillow, one folded up yellow blanket in the middle holding said stone pillow. The floor, where I reside, is damp as if someone pssed here (don't). My stomach is churning with sick feelings and it's been one day. So far, they haven't done anything to me. I know Kaki and Yuki are being strong, so I haven't heard screaming. Either that, or nothing has happened to them either. The bad news is they apparently mistook Yuki for an 'X' Negative bearer and they have NO idea I'm a living TIME BOMB! I refuse to rub at the purple bags under my eyes whatsoever. I just want to go home. They said I'm useless after they get the data…how long should that take? My skin is shedding in areas and I swear my hair is having gray streaks and at TWLEVE! I sigh and stand, spreading out my arms as wide as Moses did.

"Okay, what the fck?" I snap. "Anything? Okay, at least give me a book to read in this joint! HEY! I KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING!"

They refuse to reply, so I plop right back onto the floor, wondering where in the fcking name of Earth is my death sentence already. I mean come on, they can't just keep me here! That's kidnapping! The door opens and I look up blankly to those three scientists, the fat one, the woman, and the tall skinny one with orange hair, those three who had my eggs and made Kaki and I transform to 'X' Negative and 'X' Positive. Well, not very much I can do about this. The woman sets a tray on the nightstand (you can hardly notice it) and starts to walk out. I stand and look at the 'food' and sigh. This isn't anything that's going to keep me living for long. I sit right back down and let the food lie, hugging my knees to my chest and the ice ring now hardly passing for frost rubbing up against my ribs.

_CRACK!_

I wince and blood pours through my shirt and onto my thighs, so I drop the knees and check the ring. Yep, I'm pretty much fcking screwed. Do you know how much ice I used in that alley two days ago? A lot, more than a ice cube factory has in a day. Apparently now, since I don't have that outer layer of ice thanks to that little stunt pulled off by Sorrow, it's more vulnerable to cracking and scratching and the harmful sht like that. Right now it's cracked open…and it hurts. I shove the shirt back down and the tall man with orange hair hauls me to my feet. "Come on," he sighs. "We have you up for testing today."

I don't answer. "What testing?" the woman asks.

"Biopsy."

_Get away_

Thankfully my shirt's still on. Unthankfully, THIS HURTS! I mean seriously YOU try having all these needles poking and prodding you and I mean seriously! When you cut open the ice ring, there are only TWO WORDS for it. It. Hurts. My wrists are tied down to some metal table as (doctor/scientists) the dcks in white perform the biopsy. Reader, have you heard of autopsy, the examination of a corpse? Take the root 'bio' and you should be able to get what the heck is going on. To be honest, it's not quiet. I mean you have to cut through ice, hear my tortured screaming, and a few of them talking for passing tools and things. Tears don't leave my eyes since they're dry as the Sahara. My hands don't grip the table because I'm too weak at the moment. The only thing I'm doing in screaming and waiting for the pain to be over. A door opens, but not one to this room, and I FINALLY notice a large, out of place mirror. Wait, this isn't a mirror…

…it's a one way window.

"WHOEVER THE FCK YOU ARE, YOU'RE DEAD!" I scream. "YOU HEAR ME? DEAD!"

"Have fun doing that," I hear the haunting voice of the director's voice.

"Stop it," I hear someone mutter.

I keep screaming. Blood is splattering up onto the shirt, down onto the pants, all over the torso (obviously) and just EVERYWHERE. Even on the doctors and I'm not so sure if they're exactly happy about that. All this blood is producing a thick metallic scent that makes my stomach churn, and my stomach churning during this crp is not helping the slightest! I grit my teeth, shutting off the screaming, and I remember the chain. _"Kaki…KAKI WHERE ARE YOU?" _**Oh jeez…Maki? **Who else? **Santa. **Wrong. Okay, so I just talk to you for the first time since we got here, I'm being biopsied, and this is how y-**BIOPSIED? THEY ARE **_**SO**_** DEAD!** Thank you. Now where's Yuki? **…**Oh come on, don't tell m-**they took her off for testing. I know it's not a biopsy, but it's s-**

"AAAAAAAH!"

"YUKI!" I thrash. "LET ME GO!"

A scalpel (I think) slashes across my ribs and I scream. The door to THIS room opens. "Okay, that's enough. She's obviously not going to give us any more data today."

"I'M NOT DOING THIS AGAIN!" I scream at the director. A heart monitor is beeping out of control. "I. WANT. OUT!"

Someone places a hand on my forehead and I thrash, not knowing who it is. They undo the pin-me-downs and pick me up bridal style, despite the fact I'm bleeding all over. "It should heal," I hear an eighteen-year-old voice sigh. "Although with what you did I'm not sure if it's going to turn out well."

I freeze completely and look up to Ikuto. "I…Ikuto…"

He pats my head with the one hand connected to the right arm that's supporting my back. "I'll take her back."

Guards stand next to him and he sighs, annoyed. I blink up at him all the way back and he sets me onto the bed, grabbing some glass of water that lady must have brought and finds a spare blanket, using that as a towel to clean the 'X' Negative wound. "W-Why are you here?" I ask, not after long.

He smiles slightly, facing up to me. "I told you I'd protect you, this is as much as I can do right now."

I sigh and remind myself when the director entered, I shoot up, despite the gapping hole in my abdomen. "YUKI!"

I try to jump up, but Ikuto wrestles me back onto the bed, pinning my wrists down under the grip of his hands. "Calm down! They're not doing anything serious!"

"THEN WHAT?"

"Tiny shocks, that's it," he says. "Although I'm not sure whether or not it's supposed to be tiny for normal character bearers, or tiny for people like you."

I gap. IS HE FCKING SERIOUS? HOW SHOULD I CALM DOWN WITH _THAT _NEWS? "NOT HELPING!" I scream.

He huffs. "Okay, I'll check, but right now could you not move so much? You might kill yourself if you keep jerking the hole around and widening it."

"Jeez you sound like Mack…" I mutter. Well, he is the doctor of the group.

He pats my head gently. "Like I said, just keep living."

"You never said that!" I call after him as he walks out.

I smirk and lay back, sighing. Jeez…I'm lying flat on my back, a bed completely foreign to me. Even so, the fatigue inside of me betrays me and wills me to sleep.

_Get away_

Bright lights (remember when I had corneas?). An annoying buzzing (remember when my eyes didn't twitch?). A stiff chair (don't get me started). "Breathe in, and out…" some stupid scientist instructs me.

"Come on, Maki, it's _breathing_," Ikuto sighs behind the one-way glass. "It's not going to hurt unless you have some lung condition you've kept from me."

I roll my eyes and do as told. Might as well for Ikuto. Besides, if I give them the data, they'll leave Kaki and Yuki alone. My stomach rumbles. "How is she still hungry?" a scientist whispers (well, to them it's whispering anyways).

"She never eats," I hear that woman sigh.

"Maki," Ikuto sighs, "is that true?" I nod, refusing to talk. "Okay, she obviously doesn't trust you dopes."

"Who's the dope?" I hear Fatty Mc Fat-Fat challenge.

…What? Got a problem? I'm kidnapped right now, you'd THINK I'm in a shtty mood! Another thing…YOU'D THINK A KID WOULD AT LEAST GET ICE CREAM AFTER THAT BIOPSY! I huff and stare at the necklace. _Come on guys…where are you? _I hear the door open and the tall guy with orange hair steps through, kneeling in front of the chair. "Okay, here's the thing Maki-" I growl. "Okay, Miss Kia, we need you to eat otherwise the data won't really be precise…"

Movement catches the corner of my eye, so I look over to the corner of the room to scream. **"Hello," **she smiles, the blood from her teeth dripping off.

Now…

…don't tell me you don't know.

She takes a step forward, so I push off the chair to land on my butt, shoving myself up and walking backwards to the opposite corner. It's going be JUST like the modern horror movies…my guts will spray all over and viola, I'm slowly dying, wishing the boys back home will be safe from…that. Wait…Now that I think about it…what boys? Did Ikuto make me pregnant in my sleep when I didn't know and (amazingly) took the babies out without waking me up (to be honest, I'm _twelve_, so I don't have the 'birds' and the 'bees' down yet (frankly I don't get the part I know either))? I shake that thought out, eyes wide and fearful. The guy is trying to call someone to get me to calm down, but she just keeps coming closer and closer until we're ZA close. She giggles and pokes the necklace with one 'X' Negative claw. I don't feel it, only some pain in my chest. Well, she _is _just a deadly disease for 'X' Negative bearers.

"**You seem stressed…keep it up and I might let you live," **she smiles 'sweetly' (honestly the carnivore's jaw wipes that image away). **"Shino and Mi were just to boring! With all their 'I won't be the bad person' and 'Toa never meant to spread you' and BLAH, BLAH, BLAH…"**

"T-Toa?" I blink. "H-He…"

She shrugs. **"Eh, what do you expect? Kids beat him for that picture a year ago and you hated him, and LOATHE him. Do you think he did that on his own? His family has been my reincarnation source for three generations now, his grandpa, his dad, and now him."**

I shake my head and I feel my head slam into a wall. I blink wildly and stare at Ikuto. "I-Ikuto…?" I raise a brow. I look around to see, not a room, but ice, and the guy frozen solid. "W-what the-"

Ikuto clamps a hand over my mouth. "Listen," he commands. "I'm not sure what you saw, but nothing's there. Calm down."

I can see it in his eyes; he knows to. He's lying for comfort, which is only LESS comforting, but I'm touched at the attempt. I sigh and look down at my skirt. I caused my own destruction…

…that's when Yuki and Kaki are pushed in.

"WHAT THE HLL!" Kaki screams.

Guards yank Ikuto out. "HEY!" he screams.

I blink and the glass becomes two-way, so I can see the director. "We have all the information we need, girls. You're no longer needed."

"THEN WHY ARE WE HERE?" Yuki snaps. "FCKING BSTARDS!"

"Well, if we let you go, you'd tell," he smirks.

I gulp and I look over to the wall. Muzzles of Uzies pop out.

Crp.

**A.N: I THANK THE REVIEWERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT SO FAR!**

**FEW THINGS:**

**POLL! **

**OTHER STORIES!**

**REVIEW! (FIRST PLACE STILL!)**

**NEXT CHAPTER: SACRIFICE**

**Why can Maki see Sorrow outside her head (technically)? **

**Can Maki and her friends stop the spread forever? **

**ARE THEY GOING TO LIVE? **

**Who knows if you don't read the next chapter? Nobody. **

**Something to think about: Maki, of course, has been trying to defy things out of mistrust (food, bed, that stuff). Would you do the same? If not, what would you do?**

**See you next chapter! (Yuki is better, as promised, and it's going to get better for…Kaki and Yuki. No promises for Maki [don't think about it]).**


	21. Sacrifice

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 21_

**Sacrifice**

"_WHAT THE HLL!" Kaki screams._

_Guards yank Ikuto out. "HEY!" he screams._

_I blink and the glass becomes two-way, so I can see the director. "We have all the information we need, girls. You're no longer needed."_

_"THEN WHY ARE WE HERE?" Yuki snaps. "FCKING BSTARDS!"_

_"Well, if we let you go, you'd tell," he smirks._

_I gulp and I look over to the wall. _

_Muzzles of Uzis pop out._

_Crp._

Kaki snarls and beats against the glass, red in the face completely. "LET US GO!"

Yuki is trying to find a point of the room that is hidden from the Uzis, but that's impossible. I'm trying to solve this all in my head, but with all the ruckus Kaki is causing, I can't. I can't think, I don't feel like I can breathe properly, I feel like everything is crashing down all at one with everyone I love around me, and I can only save one. I want to save all, but I just can't. That's NOT how life works at ALL. I start to pace and Yuki presses her face against the glass. "YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO MURDER THREE KIDS?"

The director shakes his head. "_I _am not. _They _are."

I run up to the glass. "PLEASE! GIVE US SOME TIME TO LIVE AT LEAST!"

He nods. "Sure. That gives us enough time to make it able for Ikuto to watch the whole thing."

"THAT'S CRUEL!" Yuki roars.

"No duh!" Kaki spreads her arms. "LET US OUT!" she slams a fist against the glass, but it's actually plastic. Great.

I stuff my fist inside my mouth. "I want to go home…I want to go home…"

The glass becomes a one-way once more as the lights in the other room shut off. The Uzis are taken back, the holes shutting, and a metal door slides down in front of the first one. Yuki groans. "Great, now what?"

"**Hello."**

Kaki and I turn to sorrow, Yuki staring at us like we're crazy. "Didn't you just clear out?" I snap.

She smiles and shakes her head. **"Now that's not the way to ask for help, now is it?"**

"We don't need your help!" Kaki screams. "We can get out on our own!"

Sorrow laughs. **"Please! A weakling like you doesn't stand a chance against lead bullets!"**

"SHE'S NOT A WEAKLING!" I roar, running to tackle Sorrow, but she dissolves into mist with the attempt. "KAKI IS STRONG AND BRAVE! SHE DOES THINGS BY HERSELF AND DOESN'T USE OTHERS TO THEIR OWN WILL!"

She yawns as she reappears. "Aw…you're becoming Mi all over again…"

"Who?" Kaki asks.

"Guys," Yuki blinks, "who are you talking to?"

I point to Sorrow. "Only 'X' Negatives can see her apparently," I point out.

"Yeah, that has to suck for the normal bearers," Kaki mutters bitterly. "Anyways, who's Mi?"

"She's a girl Mack used to know," I inform. "She died from Sorrow."

Kaki growls. "Anyone else, Sorrow?"

"A Shino," she shrugs. "Both were dreadfully boring though. Maki has that fun spark in her you just need to ignite!"

Kaki cringes as a torn up remain of vein drips out of in between the fangs. "Gross."

"Look Sorrow!" I snarl. "GO AWAY! I HATE YOU!"

"It's okay to hate me!" she laughs. "In fact I take it as a compliment!"

"SHUT UP!" Kaki throws a fist at her, making her dissolve and reappear nearby. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?"

"Hitting a disease is just standing in front of a train and hoping it'll miss you," she teases. "No matter how much you hope, you're going to get hit, so it's utterly pointless, just as hitting nothing."

"You are nothing," I mutter. "None of this is real. It's a figment of 'X' Negative trying to get the better."

Sorrow laughs and directs a clawed hand at me. "That's exactly it! I'm a Figment Flu, the only thing in this world NOT known by human doctors! I'm your worst nightmare, Maki, Kaki. I can kill you by your own hands!"

Kaki raises a brow and gasps. "Maki, it's all a riddle."

"What?" I gap.

"Don't you get it? Figment Flu? Own hands? She's Madness, Maki! It says it in her name!"

"Oh yeah!" I snap my fingers. "Mack said Mi died after she was acting weird because-"

"-she was driven insane!" Kaki claps her hands as she finishes. "WE SOLVED IT GOD! NOW HELP US!" she faces the ceiling, spreading out her hands like Moses.

"**It's not that easy, punk," **Sorrow cackles. **"You won't get out of here alive no matter how much you pray to your Father."**

"What did you call me?" Kaki growls.

"**Please! You can't defeat me! You're weak, and there's no cure for madness! I guess you're precious little crush couldn't figure that out!"**

Kaki kicks up, making Sorrow disappear and reappear all over again. "SHUT UP!"

"STOP IT!" I yank her behind me. Yuki is checking every inch of the place for some possible exit. "This isn't helping! She's trying to spread to you, but you need Toa for that, don't you Sorrow?"

Sorrow nods, cackling like the btch she is. **"Finally! A smart one! HA! Third time **_**is **_**the charm, since this is my third resurrection and my third victim in this life!"**

"RESURRECTION?" Kaki gasps, spreading her arms. "ARE YOU FCKING KIDDING ME? YOU'RE MADNESS! HOW CAN YOU BE RESURRECTED?"

"**I'm the most solid form of it," **Sorrow floats up into the air, her claws lengthening and her teeth sharpening, the white dress billowing. **"Toa, his father, and his grandfather all had their hearts ripped out, and poor Gramps threw his egg away, literally. Crushed it to pieces and dumped it."**

"You're the madness from the 'X' Character that was supposed to come out," I mumble.

"**Still, I'm madness," **she laughs. **"Now…"**

She disappears and we look around. "Where did she-"

I scream, clutching my pounding head and kneeling down, my chest throbbing, my ribs closing in, and my heart beating rapidly. _**"Maki," **_Sorrow calls from within me, an 'X' forming on my back to prevent Kaki from being able to connect thoughts with me. _**"You want to save Yuki? Kaki?"**_

"_What about it?" _I snarl inside.

"_**It's fairly simple," **_she shrugs as I close my eyes, seeing her in all the black. _**"All you have to do…is let me be in control. It'd save Kaki, Yuki…even Ikuto, since he could escape Easter while they're after you." **_I gasp and look down at my hovering feet. I want to save them all…is this the only way? I sigh and look around, seeing the black swelling with red. _**"Better hurry," **_she taunts. _**"Madness spreads fast and ends you slowly and painfully. Along with the rest of the people you love."**_

I'm stuck in the black, my body stuck in an execution room. Yuki and Kaki's lives are in danger. Ikuto is in danger. Everyone's in danger now. All because of me. All because I was born. Now, life has landed me here to make a choice. Die with Kaki and Yuki, most likely resolving in six Guardian Character funerals, or…living to save them all. I sigh. _"Fine," _I whisper. _"You win Sorrow."_

She smiles. **"Wise choice. Now, this may hurt a bit…"**

Electric sparks line my skin, the pain harmful enough to make me scream. Yuki and Kaki try to help me, Yuki putting the most effort due to her protective personality. The sparks fly out at them and pin them to the walls, the electric bolts turning crimson and then deep black. Cuts line everywhere, cutting up the ice and everything. Ice explodes and florescent lights rip off the ceiling, two of which dangerously dangling. As they crash down, sparks line onto my legs into cuts, making blood leak out rapidly and form into an arm. The other leg repeats and the arms grab my sides as everything quakes.

"What's going on?" I hear the director ask somewhere.

"She's out of control!" the woman panics. "This isn't in the data!"

The thawed out tall guy sighs. "Does that mean we have to keep her? I was looking forward to her death."

"_MAKI!" _something stutters. A camera. It's Ikuto. _"MAKI WHERE ARE YOU? MAKI!"_

"**She's…**she's…**GONE!"**

Kaki tries to reach out to me, but the arms rip my body in half, my body turning inside out and Sorrow's flesh melting in place of my own, her hair, eyes, everything, even the clothes. As my spirit, glowing brightly in the darkness, is forced to the cold center with an ice heart, my last sight is of the necklace…

…it explodes and I'm sucked into the darkness of the heart.

**A.N: Sorry for the short chapter, but next chapter has different points of view (probably the one after that as well). **

**Poll.**

**Review. **

**Other stories.**

**Review (had to put it a second time)**

**XP (had to put a dead person)**

**Something to think about: How would you get out? Would you sacrifice yourself to Sorrow to?**

**See you next chapter. **


	22. Saving Maki

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 22_

**Saving Maki**

**Kaki's POV-** I stare at the monster before my eyes as the quaking stops, everything is cold and still. Frost replaces breath as I exhale, Yuki standing up and wiping at a cut on her cheek and wincing at a gash at her thigh. My wrist feels like hll, but I don't give a dmn about that right now. I want to know what happened to Maki. Where is she? What did she do? Stupid Maki! What the fck happened? I push myself up in fury, an unknown pain in my ankle now discovered, not tended to never the less. "WHERE'S MY SISTER BTCH?"

She cackles just like Sorrow. Yuki sees her, so this isn't some Madness mirage crp. **"Gone," **she taunts me. **"Sacrificed yourself for your pathetic lives."**

She walks over to the door as Uzis shove into the holes. The monster smiles, revealing nothing but a carnivore's jaw, and speeds over to the holes, all shooting at her specifically, ignoring Yuki and I. The bullets all reflect off, one crushing in between two fangs, and she grabs one, yanking it out and blood splattering as the person is forced through. Next thing you know there's a meat cylinder on the floor Yuki and I back away from. We can't help him, he's too mauled. She shoves claws through the other two and jerks them back out with a big hole forming, two heads in hand. I'm perfectly reminded of Elfen Lied and I charge, but she dodges and heads for the door while I slip on the sticky blood. She raises a claw and shoves it in between the hinged side of the door and the door frame, tearing both doors out. Yuki growls.

"WHERE'S MAKI!" she demands.

The monster cackles yet again (does this btch have nothing else?). **"Are you deaf, little princess? She's gone! This body is now under control of me, SORROW!"**

She laughs and sprints out. I hear screams and shouts and roars, all of which I want to ignore. I can't tolerate someone other than me hurting another, especially if they are using Maki's body. Yuki sighs and heaves me up. "Come on," she says sadly. "We need to come up with a plan with help before it's too late."

"We need the Guardians," I admit, as much as the cursed words claw at my throat. "Maki can't be saved with just us."

"Characters would also be helpful," Yuki sighs, both of us running out and down bloody gray halls.

**Ikuto'sPOV-**"MAKI!" I scream, smacking the camera and kicking the wall.

Jeez…I can't believe I let her down like this…I keep fcking everything up! I groan and smash my fist into a wall, managing a slight crack or two, nothing more, nothing less. I growl in all my frustration and I hear goons screaming. I go over to the door and it explodes, pushing me back into the wall above one of the regular prison beds. I grunt and I fall face flat to the floor. Someone steps in front of me and I look up to bloody shins, making me look farther up to a girl who needs a serious dentist job. She kneels down, some white dress soaked with blood ruffling, and raising my chin up higher with the back of a nail (or long claw). "So this is the Ikuto Maki so fell for," she smirks. "She has good choices indeed."

At the mention of Maki and spring up, grabbing the shoulders of the stranger and shaking them roughly. "WHERE'S MAKI?" I look behind her. "MAKI!"

"Aw…" she sighs. "She's dead."

I gap. "W-What?"

She smiles cruelly. "Yeah, because she sacrificed herself to save Kaki, Yuki, and you," she cups my left cheek (the face idiots). "I can see why she'd protect you though. The others are just useless."

I jerk away. "SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE'S TOO-"

"Wise, my handsome friend," she sways slightly as she gets up. "She chose to save them, well, for this once…I never said I wouldn't kill them later…"

"Y-You…You killed Maki…" I growl, pushing myself onto my feet.

"Indeed," she laughs with pride. "I'm SORROW."

"The disease…" I gasp.

She nods. "Thanks to your love for her and her love for you, she's dead," she mocks.

"WHY YOU!" I roar, heading for the btches neck to reign it.

She jumps up and grabs onto the accessory-lacking ceiling with all fours like a spider. She cackles like the witch she is. "You can't kill Madness!"

She uses ice, much like Maki's, to open up the ceiling and jump into the night sky, disappearing. "YORU!" I call.

He flies up. "Yes!"

We character change for the sake of time and chase after her, or try to before Kaki yanks me down. "WHAT THE FCK?" I scold. "SHE'S GETTING AWAY!"

"THAT'S MAKI IDIOT!" Kaki shrieks.

"We need to get more help to save Maki," Yuki sighs. "No matter if you like it or not."

I want to save Maki…but I guess help is the best option.

**Amu'sPOV-**"AMU-CHII!" Yaya hugs my waist. "DON'T GO YET!"

Miki, Ran, Su, Dia, and I all laugh nervously. "Sorry, Yaya, but I have a _sister_ and a _mom _and a _dad _I need to look after."

"Okay, Hinamori-san," Tadase waves with a brilliant smile.

I force my 'cool n' spicy' outer character to take charge, despite if I just want to run up and make out with that gorgeous face, and walk two steps before three black rectangles (by what I can see this late) drop down from the glass ceiling. Rima, Nagihiko, Yaya, and Tadase all take up alarm and I squint to black pigtails. "Kaki?" I ask.

"Present," a sad voice inside Kaki's body mumbles.

"We have trouble," Yuki comes up.

Ikuto is last, but he's not saying anything. Odd… "What's wrong?" Rima wonders.

"Maki…" Kaki gulps. "Sorrow got her."

My jaw drops. "Oh no!" Dia exclaims.

"OH DEAR-DESU!" Su gasps.

"Amu-chan!" Miki flies up. "We need to get that Mack guy!"

"Kaki," I address, "Can you contact him?" She nods and whips out the phone, going faster than anyone I've ever seen. Even the talking is rushed. "Yuki, how bad is it?"

"Sorrow's using her body," Yuki explains to everyone. "Easter caught us, they were going to EXECUTE us, and she…"

"Sacrificed herself to save the three of us," Ikuto mumbles to finish.

"Ikuto…" I sigh.

"Well," Kiseki flies up. "She's still alive of course."

"How would you know?" Yuki raises a brow.

Nana and Quartz fly up from behind. "Maki-cha!" Quartz sobs, Nana patting her back.

Annie and Mina rush over to Yuki. "Yuki-san!" Annie hugs Yuki's nose, then scribbling on it.

"Royal ally!" Mina exclaims. "We will save the commoner, I swear it upon my holy position!"

"You're holy position?" Kiseki snaps. "I'm the king!"

"You're just another commoner!" Mina argues.

"AM NOT!"

"GUYS!" Rhythm and Yoru fly up, arms flailing like mad. "MAJOR CRISIS IN PLACE!"

I bite my lip and Tadase walks up. "Okay, the best thing to do is first know how dangerous."

"She's killing people," Yuki snaps. "That considered dangerous in your dictionary?"

Kaki hangs up. "Mack says she's near his house and that he found a stunning liquid, but that's all he can manage."

"We need to keep her still," Rima walks up. "I can use tightrope-dancer."

I nod. "Nagihiko?"

"We have to corner her first. I hate to say this, but who's good bait?"

Ikuto raises his hand sadly. "She talked to me, so I know."

Tadase nods. "Amu and Yuki will try to purify this and I will-"

"Sit at the sidelines and watch massacre?" Kaki snaps. "You're going to have to find a way to keep her in place, King."

He nods. "Kaki, anything you can do?"

"Get her attention," she growls. "Where's Hidu and Cassie?"

"YO! YO! YO!" Cassie flies up, a tiny microphone in hand (where she got that is a mystery to me).

"Now," Kaki nods. We all back up as _both _get in their eggs and fly into her as she says 'My heart: Unlock!' and she changes into Hidu's outfit, except with claws and two mini-scythes. "Character Transformation: X-Negative!"

**Mack'sPOV-**I run up to the street with the multiple vials of the stunning compound I found in hand (unsafe as it is). The egg witht the medicine bottle and the red cross behind it shifts in my pocket with each stride and I skid to a dusty stop. Someone is walking on the rooftops, humming 'Love Game' by Lady Gaga. Huh, never thought people actually _liked _her but eh, I'm a boy, what do you expect? "HEY!" I call. "THAT'S NOT SAFE!"

She turns, revealing long black hair, a mouth in serious need of a chainsaw dentist appointment, claws, and blood all over pale skin and a white dress. **"I can't die~"** she sings, **"so ha, ha, ha, ha, ha~"**.

She jumps up, twirling in mid-air, and lands perfectly on her feet, smirking at me and next thing you know she's running at ZA (hyper child American thing) close and when I dodge the wall I _was _standing in front of explodes and she's rubbing her head, glaring at Yuki in her Annie transformation 'Eternal Rose' by what Kaki's told me.

"**How did you find me, stupid btch?" **the girl snarls.

"Easy, I'm Maki's friend!" Yuki screams as she brings down the scythe.

The girl catches it and kicks Yuki probably as hard as she can in the stomach, but Yuki is persistent on killing that…that _thing_. I take out my egg and grip the needles, running over and managing to lodge on into her collar bone and inject half before I'm sent flying into a telephone booth, glass and metal bending and breaking under me and scratching at my back. I push myself up and I see others coming, running. Tsukiyomi Ikuto, that pedophile Kaki also told me about, arrives and Yuki is finally pushed off, but not by far. The girl stands and bears claws, hissing, and I run forward, jumping in front of Yuki as the claws are brought down. Yuki gasps and I bear with the pain.

"Nice one," Ikuto mumbles at me before jumping off, the girl not far after him.

Kaki runs up. "Mack are you okay?"

Amu is with her. "You look like you need to go to the hospital!" Amu informs.

I shake my head with a small, pale smile. "I'm fine," my egg wobbles, "I just need to rest a tiny bit is all."

"You're _SO NOT _saying it's just a flesh wound," Kaki huffs, chasing after Ikuto and the girl.

I nod while she can't see. "Yeah, yeah," I smirk.

**Ikuto'sPOV-**It's amazing what psychopaths will do, you know? Sorrow is chasing me, even though I'm in Character Transformation: Black Lynx, and that has visible claws, why would she be chasing me? Oh yeah…she's _insane_. I turn a corner and stop short; dead end folks. I can't believe _I'm _the cornered one but…if I'm cornered, she will be cornered. Actually, fck 'she'…'it'. I turn around to see Sorrow, the one possessing Maki's body (I wouldn't say possessing though…). **"Aw, little kitty miss his little sex toy?"** she mocks (okay, I shouldn't use that word, but considering the circumstances, that's what she's intending),

"Shut up," I snarl. "It's your fault."

She shakes her head, smirking that cruel and evil way she did in the cell. **"Do you not remember what I said, or is your brain span smaller than an atom's nucleus?"** she laughs. **"She SACRIFICED herself for YOU and the worthless ones, so it's YOUR fault."**

My legs are freezing and when I try to shift them I can't. I use one eye to look down at them which soon turns to two with shock; ice is crawling up my legs and pinning me to the spot. She walks over as I try to retch out of the ice, her dragging a claw seductively across my chest while walking around me. "Whore," I hiss.

She laughs. **"Whatever you say, but it's either me,"** something sharp digs into my lower ribs, making my eyes widen and bulge, **"or death. There's no other option."**

"There's always…" I try to manage, hacking up blood in the process. "Another option…"

She sighs. **"You know," **she digs the claws deeper, **"I thought you were smarter than that."**

I smirk and chuckle. "Well…I haven't really been smart at all in a while…Maki just drove me along like that…"

Sorrow snarls. Sore spot. **"Maki, Maki, Maki, what's the point? She may be smart, but she sure is-"**

"Sexy," I laugh. "She sure is sexy."

Sorrow growls. **"She is not!"**

Man does this chick get jealous. "Really? What do you know, you haven't kissed _those _lips…"

She snarls and freezes, screaming and yanking the claws out (painfully) to grip her head, screaming like it hurts. **"STOP IT!" **she yells. **"WHORE! USELESS BTCH!"**

I then notice the brown eyes. I blink weakly, my eyelids feeling heavier and heavier with the blood loss. I blink once and the eyes change color…green. _"Whoa…"_ she blinks, the voice deeper and at least sounding like a fourteen-year-old. _"That was awesome!" _she cheers. I clear my throat and she laughs a bit_. "Oh, duh, right_!" she laughs. _"Yo! I'm Mi!"_

"Where's Maki?" I ask.

She points to her chest. _"Sorrow does that schist_," she laughs. _"Okay, one thing, you need a hospital man," she thaws the ice, making me slam into the side of the dead end alley. "Second, Maki keeps saying 'get help', so I suggest y-"_

She widens her eyes and screams, clutching her head. It goes something like 'A**AHH**_HHH_HHH!' to tell the truth. I shut my eyes and crash onto the ground, not before hearing "IKUTO!"

**Sorrow'sPOV-GET BACK IN MAKI! I yank her back in by force, that useless Mi also worth sht with her. I shake my head roughly and check a shattered piece of glass for the eyes. Yep, they're brown. I check over to Ikuto. Yep, bleeding out. Guess he chose Maki. I laugh coldly and walk forward, and then something smacks into the abdomen, making me fly back and cause a building's wall to collapse. I growl and look up to that Yuki chick, a crown on her stupid head and a light blue…cape by the looks of it on her shoulders above the pink top of a dress with a blue, green, and black bottom, an oversized paintbrush probably the size of the forearm clutched in hand and white and black socks reaching her knees. I roll my eyes and push myself up to laugh. **

"**Oh high and mighty!" I sing. "I'm over here!"**

**She growls. **"I will get Maki back. I'll fight you! Right here! Right now!"

**I nod in acceptance to the challenge, her friends showing up just in time for them to see me place the ice wall up. "Fine, fine. Come at me!"**

**She charges and I dodge, kicking her in the back. She slams into the ice and shakes it off, charging again. I kick at her, but she ducks and swing the paintbrush up at my chin. I grunt and stumble backwards. I growl and leap forwards, claws out…**

…**before my eyes widen.**

**Maki's awake once more.**

**A.N: Told you Yuki was going to get better! Oh, the name of the transformation will come next chapter. Poor Ikuto, yeah I know, but it's for a later chapter.**

**POLL**

**REVIEW (or I might actually kill Mi and Shino [where do you think he is, Cuba?])**

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**NO I'M NOT EMO, NOR PARANOID (WHICH OF MY ENEMIES TOLD YOU THIS?)**

_**SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT! Imagine you're Yuki. She went to confront Sorrow all by herself for someone she's met probably a month ago (even I lost track). One thing, she's using a different transformation. Why do you think she'd do that?**_

**SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER!**


	23. The Madness Cure

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 23_

**The Madness Cure**

I blink slowly to light, just light. To think there's light in Sorrow. I kick my body through the same old bottomless darkness and hover over to the four eggs. The ones with pieces are producing a black glow while the rose ones are shining as bright as angels. I try to reach for the treasure-themed ones, but they rip out of some center. _Yuki is panting, in a completely different transformation. "Mina…" she pants. "We can…do…this…"_

_Sorrow and Yuki are surrounded by ice and the two eggs shoot out of Sorrow's body, both of which exploding into the dark form of what seems like a kid…a boy… "Character Transformation: Shino Ghost!"_

I turn to the rose eggs and a girl appears, only made of the light of the eggs. She has medium blood hair, like Cassie's, and sparkling green eyes filled with hyper activity. The two eggs circle her head. _"Yo!" _she greets, her voice as faint as a ghost's whisper. _"I'm Mi!"_

Why does life always throw me the immediate answers? "I'm-"

"_Maki I know!" _she laughs. _"Man it's SO cool to meet you! I have a BUNCH of questions! Did you tongue that Ikuto guy? How did you get such a big heart? Why-"_

"I DID NOT TONGUE IKUTO!" I defend. Then I remind myself how he's…no, he can't be dead. "Well, not saying I never WANTED to, but that was because of Dr. Pepper."

An egg cracks open to one tiny Guardian Character with a bob of brown hair with a black headband with a cloth autumn leaf attached to it, a tiny brown dress with short puffy sleeves ending at the knee and tiny brown flats much like Yuki's shifting. She has a warm smile and I feel as if all the darkness is just an illusion, never having been real. The other, with the normal rose colors and white background, pops out another tiny one with an exact replica of the first's bob, save the color is red. The dress is red, but the same, and the flats are the same, but red. The headband is white instead and there's a thorn replacing the autumn leaf. "Hello!" the brown one smiles. "I'm Vanessa!"

"I'm Rosa!" the red one giggles.

I sigh and look up at Mi. "What happened to you? You seem so happy."

Mi smiles softly. _"You were once to you know,"_ she sighs. _"Everyone has sucking moments, I just defied Sorrow's wishes. You gave yourself up, so…you're stronger than I was. I ended up making my younger brother commit suicide…" _I gasp and she laughs softly. _"Well, look at your pal Yuki. Her dad died in an accident. She was kidnapped. She was beaten by those kidnappers. There's something in her called X-Essence…look at her. We 'X' Negatives always stick ourselves away. I was always suicidal…trying to cover it up. I'd walk into streets and pretended that people accidentally shoved me…Just look at your life. You have a mom, a step-dad, and a twin."_

I pull a brave face. "What happened to yours?"

She smiles. _"Easy, school shooting."_

I sigh and look up at the nothing. "Well, I know I'm not the only one with a sucking life, Mi…I never knew Yuki's been through that much…"

"_Who does?" _she laughs. _"Look, we need to get you out."_

I nod. "I think I know how…My heart: Unlock. Character Transformation…"

The white sleeveless layered top appears. The black straight skirt fades in. The hair straightens as pantyhose stretches up under the skirt with the white Mary-Jane shoes popping into view. A silver chain materializes around my wrist and the white marble heart, the lavender rose, and the teal quarter note link on. The white-leather bound handles of the katana swords rub against my palm and I make an 'X' with them, slashing at the outer exterior. The chest of Sorrow erupts and Mi's light flies out, dragging me for the ride and the Characters Vanessa and Rosa circle around me, Mi's light fading into me. I feel warm and the 'X' Negative thaws, becoming a plain ring in the air with another 'X' Negative ice ring vertically crossing it, forming an empty sphere. A dark figure with the treasure eggs is growling down below. Shino's ghost. I look around and the ice explodes, shards swarming around in rapid circles that could kill a person for stepping in the way. Despite that, Kaki uses her 'X' Negative scythes to make a gap and jump through. I turn to the others behind her who try.

"'X' Positive," I finish my previous statement. "Guys, don't enter. Get Ikuto to a hospital. Check for 'X' and Question eggs."

"Maki…" Amu gasps.

"You heard the lucky btch!" Kaki laughs and cries out of joy. "Go!"

They nod and all but Mack leave, his condition not looking the best. He has a half-filled (don't. you. Dare.) needle and his egg is floating next to him. "Kaki…get me in there."

"NO!" Yuki yells. "You need to be ho-"

"I DON'T CARE!" he screams.

The shadow charges for the walls, but the scythes catch it and yank it back. "Yuki, Maki, get Sorrow! I got this bstard!" Kaki grunts.

We nod and I squint at the eggs. They're sadly too corrupted to be saved. "Kaki…" I sigh.

She nods. "I know," she smiles up at me, "we're twins, we know what the other knows."

I smile and grip the katana swords, flying down to make an 'X' and push them against Sorrow's defensive claw shield, sparks flying and the light fighting the dark. "My heart: Unlock!" Yuki screams. "Character Transformation: ROYAL ROSE!"

I turn slightly to see her with a crown, an 'X' in the middle most likely from this 'X' Essence I've heard about, the black cat ears and the black tail with the white tip, pink elbow gloves, and a pink, sky-blue, green, and black dress with navy straps. She jumps for Sorrow and Sorrow pulls away from my attack to jump up. I jump up after her and slash my Katana swords constantly, her claws sparking as they block each blow. One claw is broken off and she screams in pain, so I slash at her neck, but that shadow sprints up at me and pushes me into the ice path. My arm is slashed and cut up, but no severs, so I charge back to Sorrow as Kaki tackles Shino and tries to break the corrupted eggs. Yuki is attacking with her all and Sorrow is defending with her all. I hear a soft ringing and turn to Mack, seeing his egg shining brightly. I clear the ice and he runs through. His egg cracks and pools of blinding light makes everyone freeze in place, gaping.

"What the?" Kaki gasps.

The egg explodes open.

There's a little Guardian Character alright.

But it's a _girl_.

"Holy," Yuki mutters.

Sorrow laughs. "**Oh that's pathetic! You had me worried for a sec-"**

I slash at her and she screams as an arm severs. Shino tries to help, but Kaki loops a scythe around his neck and yanks hard. He disappears and the eggs explode with purple 'X' energy. Kaki jumps over to Mack, who's gaping at his Guardian Character. He looks down. "Don't," Kaki groans, turning as if she's expecting his to start masterbating to check if he's a boy.

"Oh relax!" he snaps.

"Hello? WORLD DOMINATION STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!" Yuki snaps, charging at Sorrow and once more attacking.

I look around. There has to be a way to end this. Sorrow only has one claw, but…I fly down and nod at the nurse Guardian Character with raven ear-length hair and large ocean eyes. "Hello!" she squeaks. "I'm Jus! The only reason I'm a girl is because every doctor needs a nurse assistant!"

Mack nods. "That is true."

"Great," I smile. "Mack, give me that vial, okay?" He hands it over and I turn to Jus. "You need to Character Change with Mack to snatch up the blood from her stump."

She nods and a red cross arm-wrap appears on his upper left arm. I nod and jump back, flipping in the air and landing behind Sorrow. She rapidly turns and I stab the needle into her brown eye, making her scream and I push all the stun-junk in, her body freezing up and even her lungs still. Mack rushes up and a needle appears and he draws the blood fluently. He snatches the other needle from me, some junk appearing back in, and he fills it half-way with the blood. He stabs it into her heart and Sorrow screams, blood gurgling out of her mouth and Mack stepping back, Jus on his shoulder. Yuki has Annie's scythe appear and she charges. Kaki tosses her own mini-scythes. I raise my Katana swords behind me and slash forward.

Light beams up to the sky, Sorrow's body raising up and tears crashing to the ground…

…from Sorrow.

Hey body slowly dissolves as she opens red eyes and soon, she's gone. The pendants on my chain disappear and next thing you know two pairs of tiny arms are hugging each face cheek. "MAKI-CHA!" Nana and Quartz smile into my skin.

I laugh at the ticklish sensation, and then Mi's and my 'X' Negatives come over, both slipping over my head and fitting on my abdomen. Mi's light exits me, Vanessa and Rosa who entered with her next to her. The ice explodes around us and Mack's Character Change undo's itself. Mi laughs and Kaki gaps, Yuki smiling as well. "Hello!" Yuki waves, her Character Transformation undone and Mina floating over her shoulder, Annie…drawing on a fussy Kaki. "I'm-"

"_Yuki,"_ Mi nods. _"I know." _She looks up at the sky. _"I have to go. Maki, do me a favor…watch over Vanessa and Rosa?"_

"Y-You're going?" I stutter, tears streaming. She nods with a full-fledged smile. "W-Where?"

"_Up into the sky where angels roam," _she laughs. _"Don't cry, Maki! I'll see you again!"_

I sniffle and wipe at the tears. Jeez such a positive kid had to die…she flies up and dissolves. Yuki and Kaki walk up to me, with Mack as well, and the Guardian Characters circle around my head. I sniffle. "I…I…"

I feel arms tackle my neck and a face bury into my shoulder. I blink as I hear unfamiliar sobbing. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE!" Kaki wails.

I blink and Yuki pats her back, Mack nodding at me and I return the hug. Yuki hugs both of us and the Guardian Characters hug their owners, Jus hugging Mack's thumb and Mack patting her head. All of Sorrow is over and done…but even still we have broken hearts.

**A.N: Okay, so MAYBE two more chapters, maybe one more, I'm not sure.**

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**Review**

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**Something to think about: Put yourself in Mi's position. Would you trust someone you barely know with your Characters?**

**I really love to write about Maki, yet my idea for a third (and forth now (this is what happens when I'm bored, I come up with story ideas like snapping fingers!)) are 'dimension-theory' related. Should I write them? **

**See you next chapter!**


	24. Friends

**Conclusion!**

**NOTE: NICK WILLIAMS AND HIS CHARACTER, YUKI HISHINO, HER GUARDIAN CHARACTERS, AND TRANSFORMATION BELONG TO xDemonChickx! **

'**No More Sorrow'**

_Chapter 24_

**Friends**

Panting, sweating, the usual crp. The only thing **un**usual is the fact that I got an emergency call from Nick (Nick Williams? The famous Ikuto clone Yuki's dating?) saying that I needed to get my as on over there (okay, so maybe without the curses but still). Kaki is with Mack, who's still trying to figure out why HE got a SHE, so yeah…

…I'm killing her later.

I run through the open door of Yuki's house and dash up the stairs, Nana, Quartz, Vanessa, and Rosa all panting next to me. I gasp at the kicked down door and see Nick shaking something. I run in and gulp. It's Yuki, coughing up blood in her sleep with her characters panicking. I look around and feel something shift in my pocket. I snatch it out, not even _bothering _to check what it is, and slam it on her head, electric bolts exiting and making her eyes pop open. "HEY! HEY! HEY!" she screams, rolling onto the floor.

I stare at the tazer in my hands. "You know I swear I put this in my closet…"

She struggles getting up, Nick heaving her to sit on the bed. "Yuki!" he screams. "YUKI!"

"Huh? What?" she looks around.

I blink and see a fade version of…a girl character? Maybe just a girl, I can't tell. Long black hair, red eyes, pale skin, long blue dress, barefoot, xXx type crown, X dress straps, and a tattoo of the C, looks like Kaki has some Emo competition if you ask me, the girl with a comment to EVERYTHING. "What are you supposed to be?" I snap.

The girl _laughs_. "_**Oh, so you're Little Miss 'X' Negative,"**_ she cackles.

"Well, that's a no brainer," I mutter.

Yuki stands, backing away from Nick and I. "S-Stay back! S-she's insane!"

I take offensive stance. "Get. Away. From. Yuki."

She laughs and turns to Yuki. _**"Come on Yuki. The longer it takes to transform, the closer it gets to these two weaklings' death."**_

"You can't threaten her like that!" Nick roars.

"My heart: Unlock!" I shout. "Character Transformation: Rose Positive!"

The girl laughs and Yuki screams again, clutching her head and throwing it back. _**"My name is X, and you will NOT beat me, Little Pip-Squeak."**_

"Man I hate that cocky attitude of yours," I mutter.

I leap at her and she disappears. I raise a brow and something flies into my hip, pinning me to the wall painfully. I wince and look at Yuki to see her hair black, the crown on her head, pink or red eyes (hard to tell when you're trying to get a black 'X' out of your hip) with 'X's over them, the dark blue dress, a black necklace, what I THINK is a black cape, yet again, my hip's bleeding out, can you really trust my suck-y sight? I jerk the 'X' out and she throws more, eyes lifeless. What the fck did 'X' do? I growl and face Quartzite. "Character Transformation: Quarter Note Positive!"

More 'X's come and I jump up, the 'X's smashing through the wall. "Nick…run…" Yuki manages through 'X'.

"GET KAKI!" I scream as I jump away from more to immediately dodge more.

He nods and runs out, Annie and Mina clutching their heads and ducking in a corner, in pain I can tell. I growl and I see Rosa flailing her arms. "Maki's heart: Unlock! Character transformation: Rose Thorn!"

I gasp as a whole different transformation comes over me. Black elbow leather gloves appear, chains for bracelets while a thorn appears on the pendant catcher or whatever it calls itself. The red dress appears, so do the flats and the headband, my eyes shifting to green. It's Mi. I smile and a _Uzi _[oh _this _is gonna be _FUN_ :-)] appears. I smile madly (then reminding myself this is Yuki, not Sorrow) and aiming it at the faded figure hiding slightly behind Yuki, thorns shooting out at the rate of her 'X's and we cut each other up pretty well, the kick of the Uzi and her 'X's managing to push me out a window.

"MAKI!" I hear the normal Yuki scream.

I scream and Vanessa flies out, eyes scrunched up and hands pinned to her sides. "Character Transformation: POISON THORN!"

Okay, you'd think these happy two wouldn't come up with such violent transformations. Speaking of which…WHY CAN I EVEN TRANSFORM WITH THEM? Ah fck it, fight and get Yuki back now, ask probably well-known questions later. She flies in and the shoes switch to the brown flats, the headband black, but the thorns remain, and the left elbow leather glove colors brown. The Uzi morphs into a double-bladed thingy (yeah, it's either that or double bladed stick, which sounds worse?) and I put it under me, the bottom blade piercing the ground and my sucked in abdomen thankfully not getting stuck through like a Vlad the Impaler technique! I push up, dragging the honking huge thing with me, and the lifeless Yuki jumps onto the roof, barely in and out of it. I can tell this 'X' is using her body to try and rip my head off.

"YUKI! SNAP OUT OF IT!" I scream, jumping to dodge more 'X's. "THIS ISN'T YOU! YOU'RE SUPER NICE AND FRIENDLY!" I'm screaming in English now. "YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND YOU DIDN'T KILL! YOU ARE STRONGER! I KNOW IT BECAUSE…because…YOU'RE MY FRIEND!"

She freezes while raising a hand with 'X's and clutches her head. "LynX, get the FCK OUT NOW!"

Something hisses and the transformation is undone. I tap her head with the thingy and she giggles, eyeing it. "What?" I ask. "Just checking."

I undo the Transformation and she hugs me. "Thank you," she smiles. "You know I really hate being that…"

"Being what?" I wonder, stepping back a bit.

"An 'X' Essence person," she shrugs like it's that simple.

I gap. "A whosie what's it's?"

She laughs. "It's complicated for you, but it's rare, like an 'X' Negative or Sorrow…"

"Jeez, that's bad…" I mutter, and then my face grows red, my arms flailing. "UGH! HOW MANY FCKING RARE CHARACTER THINGAMAJIGS ARE THERE! IT'S FCKING PSSING ME OFF TO THE DMN LIMIT!"

She pats my head, laughing nervously. "Do you want to visit Ikuto?"

I freeze and look down, a bit pale. "Y-Yeah…I guess we could visit."

_Get away_

Nick is next to us, checking Yuki's temperature often. She's eating ice cream, paid by me since I figured all that blood hacking had to sore up her throat (been there, REALLY done that [yeah…'My Patch of Ice and Blood', chapter 14, near the end where I'm hacking up blood]). Vanessa and Rosa are happy since they Transformed with me, Nana and Quartz confused as heck and sitting on each shoulder with their chins on fists on elbows on knees crossed. Nate is chatting with Mina, Annie drawing happy things on the laughing Yuki's face. Eh, so I don't know half of the stuff in my life, I'll figure it out sooner or later. When Yuki finishes, we have a little bit of a ways to go, so we all race (characters included) and Yuki ends up winning. Nick is panting and smirking up at her.

"I…let you…win," he chuckles.

She rolls her eyes happily. "Yeah right," she giggles. "You're just slow. Come on, he should be awake is what the nurse said."

I nod and we walk in, a nurse tapping her foot impatiently and walking over to us. "Are you the three looking for Tsukiyomi Ikuto?" she asks. We nod. She sighs, "Well, only one can go up. Only two visitors allowed at a time."

"There's someone already up there?" Nick wonders. The nurse nods. "Okay then, Maki, you should go."

I nod and walking towards the elevator before pausing to turn to Yuki. "Are you going to be okay?" I ask.

She giggles and holds up a peace sign. "Don't worry, I'm stronger than her, just like you said!"

I smile and press the elevator button, walking into the silver and watching the doors close, turning around to a huge mirror and sighing at the reflection. Out of everything I know in life…I know little. Yuki, I had no idea she was this 'X Essence' or whatever she said. I didn't know Kaki had actual _feelings_. I didn't know that Easter was still after me, and I got Yuki, Kaki, and I all captured. I didn't know about Sorrow. I didn't know I could Character Transform with Mi's Characters. I didn't know Ikuto's feelings for me until too late. I didn't know Toa was forced with that picture business. In fact, at first, when all this started, I didn't know _anything_. Just that life sucked dcks and that was pretty much it. I sigh and place a palm on the mirror.

"Maki-cha?" Quartz cocks her head.

I smile. Of course I never knew…that's because…"That's me."

**A.N: Yep! I had to close the story this chapter!**

**So that's it for the 2nd story of, what I call, the 'Ice and Blood' series (the # of stories in it uncountable now (yep, a fifth idea is coming along (and this is why most of my stories are incomplete at long periods of time)). **

**Poll**

**Review**

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**I'd like to thank those who have reviewed ever since the beginning (xDemonChickx, Dayfeather, Nightstream of Stormclan [something like that] (well, they reviewed)). **

**Okay, a little info…**

**The next story is going to be a Vampire Knight and Shugo Chara Crossover. **

**It's going to be called 'The Red', the reason you'll have to find out! **

**I will write it after I complete some stories, so just keep checking.**

**Thank you so much for reading 'No More Sorrow'**

**-_linkinparkfan9799_**

_**!**_


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